Political leaders behind Malaya parties can never be able to negotiate MA63 implementation

Former Petagas assemblyman James Ligunjang, who is the secretary of a forum to discuss Sabah’s issues and rights called MySabah, said the full implementation of the terms contained in MA63 was the key to Sabah’s progress as the agreement guaranteed Sabah would not be saddled with a shortage of funds.

He pointed out that under the agreement, and also the Federal Constitution, Sabah is entitled to 40% of net revenue derived by the federal government from Sabah, with the money meant to pay for development programmes in the state.

Unfortunately, he said, the key provision was never fully implemented, causing Sabah to lag behind in all fields of development.

He said before Malaysia was formed in 1963, Sabah and Sarawak were on par with Brunei in terms of development but now, both states had been left so far behind with abject poverty the main issue while Brunei had since become one of the richest nations in the world.

“How could this happen when Sabah and Sarawak are far richer in terms of resources compared with Brunei?

“The answer is simple, the MA63 was never sincerely implemented by Malaya which controls the federal government from the moment the agreement was inked until today,” he said.

He said the people of Sabah and Sarawak had failed to “forcefully demand” the implementation of the terms contained in MA63.

He blamed constant political rivalry among leaders in Sabah and Sarawak which had allowed political parties from the peninsula to be involved in the political process in both states.

“You can’t and will never be able to negotiate the implementation of MA63 if the political leaders and the people of Sabah and Sarawak sit behind their political leaders in parties from Malaya.

“It’s a lesson we never learn to the detriment of our future generations,” he said.