Wan Junaidi disagrees with new Malaysia Agreement proposal

KUCHING: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has described the proposal to have a new Malaysia Agreement as nonsense.

He said the existing Malaysia Agreement 1963, known as MA63, is a commitment that had been agreed upon by all quarters for the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.

Elaborating, the Member of Parliament for Santubong said what is being demanded by Sabah and Sarawak now is not to renegotiate the existing agreement but the fulfilment of matters that have already been agreed upon.

"If we read through the MA63, we can see the promises enshrined to attract Sarawak and Sabah to form Malaysia," he told reporters after the symbolic handing over of sacrificial cows for his constituency in conjunction with tomorrow's Aidiladha's celebration, here today.

Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, when addressing the BN Sabah Convention in Penampang recently, suggested that the Sabah BN leadership propose a new Malaysia Agreement as a more concrete way forward towards realising the state's rights and demands enshrined in the MA63.

Wan Junaidi said among the contents of the MA63 to influence Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia at that time was the promise of development as the peninsula was more advanced than the state.

"That was the hope of all our leaders at that time... for Sarawak to have the same development as the peninsula," he said.

-- BERNAMA