GOVT LAUNCHES MONITORING DASHBOARD ON LATEST MA63 DEVELOPMENT

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- The government today launched the Dashboard portal on the implementation status of Matters Under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to enable the public to monitor the latest developments in its implementation.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the portal, which is operated by the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division (BHESS), provides access to background information on the agreement, the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) Report and the current status of negotiations.

"This portal allows the public to examine details related to MA63, the background related to the agreement and BHESS activities on the status of negotiations under MA63," he said at a press conference after launching the dashboard.

He said that so far, 13 matters related to the MA63 demands have been completed, while another 15 are still in the negotiation stage that requires further scrutiny.

Fadillah said the process of implementing the MA63 demands is not an easy one as it involves the history of the country's establishment and legislation that has been made at the federal and state levels for a long time.

“That is why some simple matters have already been resolved, some require more complicated consultations which sometimes require us to amend the constitution and so on including existing laws.

“So this is the position but whatever our intention is, we want to ensure that Malaysia must be a country that is intact with unity and also has strong inter-state cooperation,” he said.

The development of the MA63 Dashboard is being implemented in two phases, with the first phase launched today being accessible through the official BHESS portal while the second phase will involve continuous improvements including direct information updates by relevant ministries and agencies.

Meanwhile, commenting on the statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said regarding the Petronas and Petros regulatory issues, Fadillah said the matter has been taken to court and all parties need to wait for the official decision of the legislature.

Yesterday, Azalina was reported to have said that MA63 is the basic document that sets out the terms of the formation of Malaysia including the rights and autonomy of Sabah and Sarawak in certain areas.

However, she said, the management and regulation of the oil and gas industry is determined by federal legislation, specifically the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (Act 144).

-- BERNAMA