Kota Kinabalu: Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS) Information Chief Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan (pic) said Sabah’s 40 per cent claim was not new or a matter of goodwill from any party but a right provided for under the Federal Constitution that should be resolved responsibly, fairly, and in the true spirit of Malaysia’s formation.
He said the PGRS welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to raise Sabah’s interim payment to RM1.5 billion starting this year, calling it a positive outcome of ongoing negotiations between the State and Federal Governments.
However, he said the interim payment did not settle the 40 per cent claim, which the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor had continued to insist must still be finalised.
The party also welcomed the in-principle agreement to increase Sabah and Sarawak’s representation in the Dewan Rakyat, saying Sabah’s voice needed a stronger footing in Parliament in line with the position and spirit both states held when Malaysia was formed in 1963.
Nizam said the same applied to efforts to speed up Borneonisation of the Federal civil service and other unresolved MA63 matters, all of which were tied directly to Sabah’s standing in the Federation and its ability to manage its own interests.
He said Hajiji’s approach had been clear throughout, firm in defending Sabah’s rights while choosing negotiation, cooperation and government-to-government engagement to produce concrete solutions, an approach that had already delivered progress on several MA63 claims and should continue until all outstanding matters were fully resolved.
“For the PGRS, the question of Sabah’s rights goes beyond partisan political interest. Whatever constitutes the rights of the state and the people of Sabah must be fought for consistently,” he said.
“We appreciate the openness of the Federal Government and the Prime Minister in continuing negotiations on matters that remain unresolved.
“At the same time, PGRS stands firmly with the Chief Minister in the position that settling Sabah’s 40 per cent claim must be given priority and expedited.
“Sabah is not asking for more than what is rightfully due. We only want what has been agreed upon and provided for under the Constitution to be implemented fairly, consistently and responsibly,” Nizam said.
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