SARAWAK will no longer discuss autonomy and rights issues with the Technical Committee on Devolution of Power formed by Putrajaya last year and will only negotiate with no one less than the deputy prime minister or a senior minister, Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said today.

He said a high-level task force formed by Sarawak to negotiate with Putrajaya on the devolution of powers under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) would only talk to a team headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or “any senior minister with authority”.

The technical committee formed to provide the recommendations to Putrajaya on how power could be devolved to Sarawak is headed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri with Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman as co-chairman.

Talks have dragged on since the committee was formed in June last year with no updates on its recommendations.

Without stating it, Abang Johari implied that Nancy and Anifah were not senior enough or in a position to make decisions.

“We suggest the deputy prime minister to head the other side. Nancy and Anifah cannot do it,” he told reporters at the end of the assembly sitting today.

The committee is made up of representatives from the federal government, the Sabah and Sarawak governments, and historians from the two states.

It was to identify the issues of non-compliance in the context of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC), Malaysia Agreement 1963, Malaysia Act, federal constitution and other written reports or documents, such as the Cobbold Commission Report.

The committee was to have developed recommendations and solutions for the federal government to consider.

In July, Anifah said the committee would meet for the last time and thereafter, present its final recommendations.

In October, with no updates forthcoming, PKR Sarawak accused Putrajaya of dragging its feet and being insincere over talks to devolve more power to the state.

Abang Johari today added that the state’s special task force, whose formation was approved by the state assembly last Thursday, will have all three deputy chief ministers – Douglas Uggah, James Masing, Awang Tengah Ali Hassan.

On when Petronas has to obtain all the licences and leases needed to explore and mine for petroleum in the state, Abang Johari said the task force “will decide what is the best mechanism” after consultation with the federal government. – November 17, 2017.