16 MINISTRIES CONCLUDE DEBATE ON MOTION OF THANKS FOR ROYAL ADDRESS

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 (Bernama) -- The third week of the Dewan Rakyat sitting saw 16 ministries winding up debate on the motion of thanks for the royal address, which began on Wednesday after two weeks of debate by MPs.

The winding-up session began with the Finance Ministry, followed by seven others, including Communications, Transport and Housing and Local Government, and continued on Thursday with eight more, including Defence and Education.

The Dewan Rakyat session also focused on a special briefing by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday, clarifying the Malaysia-Indonesia border issue in Sabah and Kalimantan.

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Anwar explained that the determination of the Malaysia-Indonesia land border is not based on compensation, reciprocity or profit-and-loss considerations, stressing that the border determination is fully grounded in international conventions, laws and agreements, specifically two conventions and one key agreement governing the entire Sabah and Sarawak boundary.

He said the instruments involved are the 1891 Boundary Convention between the British and Dutch governments covering Sabah and Sarawak; the 1915 Boundary Agreement between the British and Dutch governments specific to Sabah; and the 1928 Boundary Convention signed in The Hague on March 26, 1928, covering a small sector in Sarawak.

The Prime Minister firmly rejected claims that Malaysia handed over 5,207 hectares of land to Indonesia as compensation for three villages in Nunukan near the Sabah-Kalimantan border, calling them false and misleading.

“Resurveying and re-marking the Malaysia-Indonesia border in the Outstanding Boundary Problem (OBP) areas at Sungai Sinapad and Sungai Sesai has secured Malaysia an additional 780 hectares.

“That additional land means Kampung Kabulangalor, Kampung Lepaga, and Kampung Tetagas are now within Malaysian territory,” he said.

This week, the Dewan Rakyat did not sit on Monday and Tuesday due to the Thaipusam and Federal Territory Day holidays.

Over the two-day sitting, MPs raised issues that ministers addressed, including Orang Asli concerns amid digitalisation, the takeover of Bintulu Port, the benefits of the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) programme, and a proposed online business licence.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah said SARA aid is credited to recipients’ identity cards and can be spent at registered partner stores on 14 categories of essential goods.

“Spending through SARA in the domestic market reached RM4.8 billion in 2025, with 99 per cent of recipients using the facility,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the government assures that all policies, including digitalisation of services in the security sector, will not affect the interests or future of communities, including the Orang Asli.

The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) plans to introduce a more comprehensive dispute-resolution framework through an integrated online dispute-resolution (ODR) platform.

The Dewan Rakyat sitting runs for 20 days, concluding on March 3.

-- BERNAMA