Don T Stir Sentiments For Political Mileage Ongkili Tells Jeffrey

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Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Maximus Ongkili (right) engaging in a discussion with Sabah Law Society president Roger Chin in Kota Kinabalu today. (Ministry pic)KOTA KINABALU: Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Maximus Ongkili has told his Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ally Jeffrey Kitingan to refrain from “stirring sentiments for his political mileage”.
Referring to Kitingan’s recent call to draft a new agreement to resolve the status of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia, Ongkili said many things which were beyond the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) would have to be considered if this were to be done.
Instead of ”making unnecessary suggestions”, Ongkili said Kitingan, who is Sabah deputy chief minister, should concentrate on current efforts to resolve the MA63 issues.
“Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is very accommodating and has been very open, providing us enormous space to work in, especially in addressing the MA63 issues,” he said in a statement today.
“Chief minister Hajiji Noor is also very sincere in spearheading to restore our rights. Jeffrey should give these initiatives a chance to succeed rather than abandoning the efforts in search of an indefinite, uncertain, and lost world.”
Kitingan, who is Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president, had said in an online forum last week that a new Federal Constitution was the answer to resolving the status of Sabah and Sarawak in the Malaysian federation.
The Keningau MP was also of the opinion that a new Malaysia Agreement should be created, saying the existing MA63 document did not turn out as the two Borneo states had intended.
Ongkili, who is Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president said: “This is a delicate matter which needs better understanding. We must be very careful in reading these situations.
“So do not talk about drafting a new agreement when you have not even done the necessary studies. Don’t stir sentiments just for politics.”
Ongkili also said it was important to know the implications of abandoning the existing MA63.
“The present government is doing what was never done before – addressing the shortcomings. We are already managing these defects, correcting matters which have been identified by the working committees under the Special Council on MA63, and the people of Sabah and Sarawak.
“We must understand that the MA63 is part of the Malaysia Act which was tabled in Parliament, as well as the Sabah and Sarawak state legislative assemblies.
“If we want to establish a new agreement, it needs to be tabled in Parliament and both assemblies for approval. It is a long process,” he said.
MA63 module
Ongkili also said that a module on the historical contents and legal aspects of the MA63 would be developed to allow the public, especially the younger generation, to understand its importance in the formation of Malaysia.
Ongkili said this would be jointly done with the Sabah Law Society (SLS).
“This module can be a standard material for schools and public engagements.”
Some 800 law experts from SLS can do this, he said after receiving a visit from the society led by its president Roger Chin at the Sabah and Sarawak affairs division office here today.
“There have been a lot of interpretations on MA63 out there and we hope this module will set the records right. We want to prevent the public from being misled from the true reflection of the historical agreement,” he said. - FMT

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