KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan is glad to have former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia on his side in proposing a new Malaysia agreement to replace the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“I think what Pandikar is proposing is similar to what I have proposed. Yes, I agree with him (that a new agreement is needed to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s rights) or rather, Pandikar agrees with me; because I said it first,” he told The Vibes today.
Jeffrey was commenting on Pandikar’s statement that Sabah and Sarawak leaders should forget the MA63 and forge a new deal with Putrajaya during a webinar organised by the Enlighten Society titled Forum Malaysia 58 Tahun: Hala Tuju, Potensi dan Cabaran.
Yesterday, Pandikar who is also United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) president had told online portal Free Malaysia Today that he felt Sabah and Sarawak leaders are still clinging to an old mentality by constantly harping on MA63.
He added that a “new deal” will create equal status between the Borneo states and Peninsular Malaysia.
Pandikar’s view is similar to what Jeffrey had proposed in May this year – a new Malaysia agreement and constitution.
Jeffrey said the MA63 issue has been around for many years, and the time has come for the deal to be replaced as its terms have not turned out “as aspired” after 58 years.
The Sabah Star president said there is a need to restore Sabah’s autonomy so that its leaders can run state-based agendas, not those from the peninsula.
However, Jeffrey’s proposal was slammed by PBS president Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, who said such proposals should not go unchecked, adding that “there are many things to be considered beyond the Malaysia Agreement 1963 itself”. – The Vibes, September 18, 2021
