Will the Borneo state ever get what the federal government owes it
It was painful to watch prime minister Anwar Ibrahim struggling to explain why Sabah and Sarawak are getting the lion’s share of federal money for development in next year’s budget. And perhaps for the first time, Mr Anwar alluded to his government’s financial obligation to the east Malaysian Borneo states under the Malaysia Agreement of 1963. Famously known as MA63, it sets out terms for their membership, safeguards, special privileges and autonomy in the 13-state Malaysian federation. These have already been written into the federal constitution. Yet Mr Anwar stumbled while answering questions in parliament on November 2 in a feeble attempt to pacify peninsular critics that his government is giving too much attention to east Malaysia. What has been left unsaid is the hundreds of billions of ringgit, not to mention earnings from oil and gas, that Putra Jaya has profited from Sabah and Sarawak.
Continue reading “Anwar trips on Sabah”
Sabah Insights 