PENAMPANG: United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) President Datuk Ewon Benedick urged Upko members to support the Sabah Government’s position that an independent assessor should be appointed if no agreement can be reached on the amount owed to the State under its 40 per cent net revenue entitlement.
He said an independent assessment was necessary to determine and verify the amount that should be paid to Sabah if negotiations over the entitlement failed to reach a consensus.
“I urge all Upko members to support the State Government’s position that if no agreement can be reached on the amount for the full 40 per cent revenue entitlement, an independent assessor should be appointed to verify the amount that should be paid to Sabah.
“Revenue sharing was one of the main reasons Sabah agreed to join in the formation of Malaysia,” Ewon said in his policy speech at the 17th Upko Triennial Delegates Conference at the Hongkod Koisaan Hall, KDCA, here, recently.
He said Upko would continue to uphold Sabah’s position on the remaining 16 demands under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), including those that had been partially resolved, those for which policy decisions had been made and those referred to the Higher Committee.
Ewon, who is also the State’s Deputy Chief Minister III, said Upko also supported the Sabah Government’s position that matters involving Sabah’s maritime territorial boundaries, immigration autonomy and full authority over land were non-negotiable as they constituted the State’s rights.
He said Sabah must continue to pursue its constitutional safeguards and called for no less than one-third of the total 222 parliamentary seats to be allocated to Sabah and Sarawak, in line with the original spirit of MA63.
“This is why we must unite, cooperate and stand together among Sabah’s local parties through Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
“Sabah must be governed by Sabah’s local parties. We can support a Prime Minister and Federal Government that are committed to the full implementation of MA63,” he said.
He added that the existing parliamentary boundaries dated back to 2004 and, therefore, the number of seats should be increased in line with the demand for one-third of parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak.
Ewon also said Upko supported the establishment of an Inter-Party Committee in the Sabah Legislative Assembly to strengthen the State’s MA63 demands and complement negotiations being pursued by the Sabah Government.
He said the party would continue to push for institutional reforms involving Sabah’s Native institutions, including upgrading the Native Courts Training Institute (ILMAN) into an institution offering at least diploma-level qualifications in Native Court administration in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
In another development, Ewon said Upko wanted the Election Commission (EC) to introduce a mechanism allowing Sabahans working in Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia to vote in Sabah elections without having to return home.
He said such a mechanism should cover both parliamentary and State Legislative Assembly elections in Sabah.
“We also want the EC to introduce a mechanism that would enable Sabahans working in Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia to participate in elections in Sabah, whether parliamentary or State elections, without having to return to Sabah to vote.
“The same should apply to Sarawakians and those from Peninsular Malaysia who are working in Sabah,” he said.
Ewon said Upko also supported the Election Commission’s digitalisation initiatives, including the pilot ‘Optical Character Recognition Voter Attendance’ (OCR-VA) system introduced during the recent Negeri Sembilan State Election.
However, he said the EC should engage political parties before implementing the OCR-VA initiative.
Meanwhile, Upko wants a political funding law to be enacted as part of efforts to strengthen political governance and transparency.
Ewon also called for English-language education to be strengthened in Sabah schools, with school boards and parent-teacher associations given greater flexibility to decide whether to introduce English Literature or use English as a medium of instruction for science and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) streams.
On the diesel subsidy, he said the implementation of the Budi Madani targeted diesel subsidy should be improved to reflect Sabah’s actual needs and circumstances.
He said Upko’s proposals would be submitted through a special committee established by the Sabah Government.
Ewon also called for Labuan to be developed as an offshore financial centre, with all registered financial companies required to operate fully from the island.
