Return of islands to Sabah among eight items decided by MA63 committee

Returning the management of two islands to Sabah is among eight items that have been decided on by the special cabinet committee to review the implementation of the Malaysian Agreement 1963.

The Prime Minister's Office, in a statement today, said Putrajaya has in principle agreed to return the management of Pulau Sipadan and Ligitan, particularly in the areas of tourism, back to the Sabah government.

"The technical and security issues will be refined," it said.

The management of the islands was taken over by the National Security Council following the kidnapping of 21 people by terror group Abu Sayyaf in 2000.

The special cabinet committee meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The decisions were made on July 23 during its fourth meeting since inception.

Other decisions made include the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry's agreement to hand over the regulation of gas distribution to the Sarawak government in accordance with the state's Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016.

"Meanwhile, the Sabah government agrees to conduct due diligence before the power of regulation on gas and electricity is handed over," it said.

The PMO said the federal government, in principle, also does not have objections to devolve the power to make subsidiary legislation on the labour condition peculiar to the state.

"Action is being undertaken to amend the states' respective labour ordinance," it said.

The PMO said it was also agreed that a joint working committee between the federal, Sarawak and Sabah governments would be set up to facilitate the implementation of public works projects by the federal government.

Furthermore, it said the three entities also agreed to form an engagement committee to discuss the management of healthcare in Sabah and Sarawak.

On Sabah's claim for export duty for logs and forest products, it said the federal and Sabah governments agreed that the issue is resolved as power had been delegated to the Sabah Forestry Department since June 2017.

The special cabinet committee comprises 23 members. Apart from the prime minister, its members include the chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak, federal ministers as well as senior officials from the federal, Sabah and Sarawak governments.

The first meeting was held on Dec 17, 2018, and has been tasked to resolve 21 issues.

Of these, 13 are joint issues involving Sabah and Sarawak and eight more are specific to Sabah.

The PMO said the negotiations are in line with the Pakatan Harapan government's manifesto promising to review the implementation of the Malaysian Agreement 1963.