Sarawak’s tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has rejected a proposal from five civil society groups for a new “Malaysia Agreement” to devolve more power to Sabah and Sarawak. He said the priority should be on fully implementing the original Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) rather than negotiating a new deal.
Karim, who is also information chief of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), told FMT the 1963 accord had been carefully debated and agreed upon by Malaysia’s founding leaders to safeguard the rights of all states and regions. He said those rights had been eroded over the decades and it was now the responsibility of current leaders to restore them.
“It’s incumbent on the leaders of Malaysia who came after to ensure that the hopes and rights of the various states and regions are respected, and not to deviate from the original intention of the agreement,” he said.
The proposal – dubbed “MA63 Plus” – was put forward by four NGOs and a think tank to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s autonomy as “special regions”. They argued that there is a growing perception the federal government is not serious about honouring MA63. The groups also suggested amending the Federal Constitution to devolve powers, rather than relying on ministerial decisions, and called for other states to join Sabah and Sarawak in negotiating greater autonomy.
Karim said he supports the idea of devolving more legislative and executive powers to all state governments, including those in Peninsular Malaysia, in keeping with Malaysia’s federal system. He also urged Putrajaya to ensure a fair distribution of fiscal resources so that “no state will be left behind”, including the Bornean states.
Sabah deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan struck a more open tone, saying he supports decentralising federal powers but believes Sabah and Sarawak’s rights under MA63 must be fully implemented first.
“Malaysia’s legislative and executive powers are over-centralised. This slows down Malaysia’s growth, creates unnecessary costs and promotes corruption,” said Kitingan, who is president of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR).
He added that a renegotiated agreement could be considered once the original MA63 is fully in place.
