THE COMMITTEE overseeing the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) will have its structure reorganised before discussions can commence again, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
He said the restructuring is necessary in view of the federal cabinet reshuffle following which Datuk Armizan Ali is no longer the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs.
“So we will reorganise the structure and then only then we will call a meeting,” said Fadillah when met by reporters in Tuaran today.
He also said that he had made a courtesy call on Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor yesterday to get a “direction from him” over the MA63 matters.
Fadillah said that he would have Armizan and Penampang MP Ewon Benedick placed into the relevant committee before resuming discussions, he said.
Armizan has been made the minister in the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry following the cabinet reshuffle in December last year while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim instructed Fadillah to charge over the Sabah and Sarawak affairs portfolio.
Benedick is a member of MA63 Implementation Action Council whose technical committee is planning to propose a framework to Putrajaya and the Sabah government for the payment mechanism of the 40% tax revenue due to the state.
Fadillah noted that a decision on the payment mechanism would be made by June this year. – The Vibes, January 20, 2023
