KOTA KINABALU – Warisan information chief Datuk Azis Jamman, who is embroiled in a media spat with Papar MP Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, agreed with the latter’s claim that 17 of the 21 demands linked to Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) have not been resolved.
The former Sepanggar MP said he is not arguing against Armizan’s claim that the demands were not resolved as they were only approved at the policy stage during the previous Pakatan Harapan era between 2018 and 2020.
He said they would only be resolved if the present government is keen to see it happen.
“I also have my thanks to express to Armizan as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for recognising the work Warisan had done on the MA63 issue.
“At least he (Armizan) was aware of our deeds, compared with the leaders during Tan Sri Musa Aman’s time, which made zero progress at all,” Azis told The Vibes today.
Both Armizan and Azis had been embroiled in a media debate over the MA63 demands here recently.
17 of the 21 demands were the requests of the Sabah and Sarawak governments on MA63 to Putrajaya during the short-lived reign of the Pakatan Harapan federal government between 2018 and 2020.
The 17 matters were subsequently approved at the Cabinet Special Committee Meeting some time in 2020.
Among the issues are export duties and forest products, regulation of gas and electricity distribution in Sarawak and Sabah, agricultural and forestry issues, review of special grants, delegation of power to Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the judicial commissioner appointment.
In 2021, the then Sabah and Sarawak Affairs minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili refuted all the 17 demands as being resolved, adding that PH claimed the resolutions were “merely commitments” following the change of the PH government to Perikatan Nasional.
Ongkili however maintained the PN government will still deliver on these commitments.
Towards this end, Azis said it is up to the current government to resolve these “commitments” established by the previous Pakatan Harapan, Warisan, and Sarawak governments.
He said Armizan should make good use of his words to declassify the state government letters during Warisan’s time to Putrajaya in regards to the 40% special grant.
Azis also said he was also prepared to face Armizan in a debate over these issues, but demanded that the Papar MP allow a level playing field as he is no longer a lawmaker.
He said most of the documents are classified information and he could end up in trouble simply having them discussed publicly.
“Armizan should have all the documents declassified, and not nitpick on any particular documents,” he said, referring to Armizan’s call to declassify letters only between Sabah and the Finance Ministry in 2019.
Azis maintained that then chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal had never agreed to the revised special grant during the PH-led federal government, shown in Shafie’s refusal to sign any gazette or review order on the matter.
At the time, the federal government had decided to double the special grant from RM26.7 million to RM53 million, with then finance minister Lim Guan Eng saying that the government was facing financial difficulties arising from issues such as the 1MDB scandal.
He said Sabah accepted the money as it still belongs to the state.
The current Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government had signed a gazette in the latest review, raising the annual grant to RM125.6 million in the first of five payments.
The matter is now in the courts after Sabah Law Society filed a judicial review to overturn the gazette.
Azis has expressed his concern that Sabah may have done away its constitutional right to obtain 40% of its revenue entitlement following the signing of the gazette. – The Vibes, July 6, 2023
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