Discussions on returning healthcare, education autonomy to Sabah, Sarawak progressing, says DPM Fadillah

Fadillah (centre) speaking to reporters after attending the Malaysian Cocoa Board appreciation ceremony in Kota Kinabalu.

KOTA KINABALU: Talks on the return of rights to Sabah and Sarawak as enshrined under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) are ongoing, including on the autonomy to hire and place public-sector education and healthcare workers in both states, said Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the challenge faced by the Bornean states presently was that such decisions were made in Putrajaya, adding this may not suit the actual needs of Sabah and Sarawak.

When the process is done across the pond in the peninsula, he said, many of those who managed to obtain the positions after the interview in either sectors chose not to move to Sabah and Sarawak, thinking their job placement would be in interior areas.

In the end, he said, there would be no one serving the states despite the positions being taken up.

“So, that is why we are thinking it would be better to return the administration and management of the health and education sectors to Sabah and Sarawak,” Fadillah told reporters after attending the Malaysian Cocoa Board appreciation ceremony here on Monday (May 15).

“This is so we can decide for ourselves on hiring and that these individuals must report for work in Sabah and Sarawak - this is one approach we are fine-tuning,” he added.

He added that the Federal Government was waiting for the Sabah and Sarawak governments to present the terms of the matter.

“This means empowerment (to Sabah and Sarawak) and this also includes planning on issues such as costing.

“Everything is done in Kuala Lumpur now so even the states are not aware of the priority being set sometimes.

“Hence, we are asking for autonomy on the part of the administration and management of the healthcare and education sectors so we can set the priorities,” said Fadillah, who is also the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister.

Another MA63 matter, which was not as straightforward but still being discussed, he said, was the one-third representation for Sabah and Sarawak in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said the talks centred more on the technical argument between the federal Attorney General and Sabah and Sarawak.

When Malaysia was formed, he added, two-thirds of the seats were in Malaya while the remaining quota were reserved for Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

After Singapore left the federation, he said, Sabah and Sarawak were left with less than one-third of the seats, adding a law can be passed or amended in Parliament without the votes of MPs from both states.

“So, we want to have at least slightly more than one-third of the seats, this will preserve the spirit of the formation of Malaysia,” Fadillah said.

“But this is more complex as aside from getting the legal views of Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, we also need the full backing of all MPs in the peninsula.”