DURING prime minister Najib Razak’s recent visit to Sabah to open the PBS Congress, he said the people of Sabah have the right to speak about MA63 without fear of being arrested.

He said he will not imprison anyone, in veiled reference to his predecessor who had previously put several Sabah leaders under the ISA. Sabahans should be relieved to hear Najib’s assurance, if it’s not an election ploy.

For those who are not familiar with the subject, the formation of Malaysia came into being with the signing of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.

The agreement spells Sabah and Sarawak’s rights and conditions for the two states to form Malaysia. Without the two East Malaysian states, there will be no Malaysia. Singapore has already dropped out in 1965 and has become a successful nation by itself.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia made headlines recently with his statement on MA63 which went against the thinking of many Sabahans. Pandikar has succeeded in adding more confusion and ire than clarity on what is already a sticky subject. He touched on the sensitive subject of religion, the 40% tax to be returned to Sabah, and Sabah just being a British colony and not an equal partner state amongst others.

In a Westminster type of parliamentary system, the Speaker is expected to remove him or herself from politics, and remain as neutral as possible. Pandikar seems to have contravened the normal convention on the role of a speaker. Netizens said he could have done a better job of putting his ideas across and are upset with his talk-down attitude and condescending tone. After the furore, he seemed to have toned down his rhetoric and says he is now willing to debate his opponents in front of a live audience.

Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, a State Assemblyman and a party leader, fired several salvos at Pandikar. He was clearly upset, saying Pandikar may have his reasons, but he is obviously twisting facts with pure empty political rhetoric for political survival.

In May, Pandikar declared his intention not to continue as Dewan Rakyat Speaker after this current term, and is considering contesting a state seat in Sabah or go for a parliamentary seat in GE14.

Pandikar’s tirade against opposition leaders exposed the confused state of the MA63 negotiations with the Federal Government, which has now gone in several directions. On the Federal level, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman co-chairs the steering committee with Minister Nancy Shukri from Sarawak on the devolution of authority.

A technical committee with representatives from both states will report their findings and recommendations to the steering committee. Nancy said among the matters raised by the technical committees included finance, oil and exploration, mining and gas, legislations, land and revenue from land, federal and state works, education and labour, and state public service.

“It is a complicated process since there are many laws involved and requires much research and analysis,” said Nancy.

There is no mention about religion brought up by Pandikar in the negotiations. Sabahans have accepted Islam as the official religion of the Federation, provided they can freely practice their own religions.

On the Sabah state level, Special Tasks Minister Teo Chee Kang is the Chairman of MA63 Revision of State Rights Committee appointed by the state government to obtain feedback on state rights and people’s views on the issue. He said the report submitted to the Prime Minister was tabled and endorsed by the state cabinet on May 3, 2017 and his committee will continue to work with the federal committee on the restoration of State rights, and fairer devolution of powers to the state.

Anifah Aman in his private capacity is also leading MySabah, a group comprising individuals from across the political spectrum to discuss Sabah’s rights as a state. Anifah said he has access to the Prime Minister and could thus raise issues that were important to Sabahans. He has raised questions of whether we are getting a fair deal and whether the promises, assurances and agreements made in the formation of Malaysia has been implemented and fulfilled.

There are a plethora of political parties fighting for state rights under MA63.  Acting President of PBS (BN component) and Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Dr Maximus Ongkili has declared it is ready to team up with Sarawak parties should a motion be tabled in Parliament to restore lost provisions in MA63.

There are six Federal Ministers from Sabah, with Anifah Aman leading the charge on the Devolution Committee at Federal level. They should come together and form a united front and create a clear process for negotiations to avoid unnecessary speculations.

At the moment, this is not happening in Sabah and Sarawak. Netizens who are cynical with the situation saying the more the merrier, let the circus go on. They have questioned whether this is an organised chaos by intentions from the Federal side. Divide and rule.

Sarawak was way ahead of Sabah at one time as they had set up a Devolution Committee much earlier under the leadership of the late Adenan Satem. However, strangely enough, on November 8, the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the ministerial motion on the MA63 and matters related to it.

DCM of Sarawak Douglas Uggah Embas, in moving the motion, sought a mandate for the state government to form a high-level special task force to negotiate with the federal government. If Sarawak established another high-level task force, what happened to the previous state devolution committee?

Sarawak complicated the issue when it dropped the latest bombshell that it will not deal with the steering committee led by Anifah Aman and Nancy Shukri, preferring to negotiate with someone not less than the DPM level. This is like a slap in the face to both ministers. Sarawak is now the spoiler in the game and has snubbed and embarrassed their own Federal Minister Nancy Shukri, who co-chairs the Federal steering committee. Sarawak’s game plan is still unclear as its ups the ante.

Pandikar complained about politicians and activist who he claims gave a distorted view of MA63 to gain political mileage. “They are saying things that people want to hear through social media, WhatsApp groups, blogs and so on, but they are confusing those who do not know about MA63, especially young Sabahans”, he said.

Pandikar should realise he is part of the problem. Anyone will be confused if there are Federal and state committees, political parties and groups all championing MA63 with different interpretations and agenda? Details are scant leading to confusion and mistrust.

With no timeline in the offing, the negotiations could take forever. Frustrations will grow and create more angst in East Malaysia. Hopefully our leaders from both sides of the China Sea can come together and establish a clear process for negotiations and move the agenda forward. Start with the low hanging fruits. – November 22, 2017.

* Joe Samad has wide experience working for international companies and government GLC. He is interested in new technology applications in a shared economy and issues affecting the nation,  sharing his worldview across various media platforms.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.