KUCHING: Two new members of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council Technical Committee (JKTMTPMA63) will be finalised this month, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
He said a draft memorandum on the restructuring of the committee had been completed and would be tabled to the Cabinet soon.
“For Sabah, we recommend the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development Datuk Ewon Benedick, while for the Sarawak representative, the Minister of National Unity, Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.
“Although I, as the committee chairman, am from Sarawak, I need another minister from Sarawak to sit in the committee and to help answer questions in Parliament when I am not there,“ he said after presenting Chinese New Year contributions and Ang Pau to senior citizens and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in the Matang area at the Sungai Tengah SUPP Hall here, today.
Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Public Utilities and Member of Parliament for Petra Jaya said the restructuring of the committee was done to replace the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) previously held by Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.
According to Fadillah, who is Petra Jaya Member of Parliament, said the negotiation regarding the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) issue involved three stages, namely the Implementation Action Council chaired by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Premier of Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Johari Abang Openg and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
“The second level is the technical committee, which I chair, while the third is the working committee which is represented by government officials to discuss basic matters.
“If there are any issues that cannot be resolved at the basic level, then the matter will be taken to the technical committee for us to decide and then to the MA63 Implementation Action Council,“ he added. – Bernama