Putrajaya: The MADANI government has successfully resolved nine claims related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), as announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Fadillah, who also serves as the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, stated that among the resolutions achieved were the recognition of the Public Works Department (JKR) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) of Sabah and Sarawak as Technical Departments under Treasury Instruction 182 (AP182). Additionally, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) Act 1995 was amended to include representatives from the Sabah and Sarawak state governments as permanent members of the IRB.
Other resolved matters include the transfer of regulatory power over gas supply to Sabah, judicial administration adjustments in Sabah and Sarawak, and the formulation of special guidelines for federal land reservation resumption in these regions. Fadillah made these remarks in a statement following the first Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council Technical Meeting (JKTMTPM63) for 2025 held at the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya.
Further elaboration by Fadillah highlighted the transfer of electricity regulatory powers to the Sabah state government and proposed amendments to Article 95B of the Federal Constitution concerning legislative power division for Sabah and Sarawak. The status of Bintulu port was converted from a federal to a state port, and labor-related matters in Sabah and Sarawak were addressed. The special interim grant to both states has also been doubled to RM600 million each starting this year.
Fadillah emphasized the significance of the meeting for planning pragmatic follow-up actions regarding pending MA63 matters. This aligns with the decisions from Meeting (MTPMA63) Number 1 of 2024, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on September 12. The meeting reviewed six presentation papers from various ministries, including finance-related actions and reports from the Sabah and Sarawak State civil service Working Committee Meeting.
Discussions also covered the potential amendment of item 25A (Tourism) in List I (Federal) of the ninth schedule of the Federal Constitution to List III (Joint) of the same schedule. Other topics included development at the Sabah-Sarawak-Kalimantan border and reports from the Health and Education Development Joint Action Committees for Sabah and Sarawak.
Fadillah concluded that all decisions made would be presented at the next meeting for further consideration. Ongoing discussions and monitoring of unresolved MA63-related claims will continue under the Technical Committee of MTPMA63.