Fadillah wants Armizan back in MA63 committee

KOTA KINABALU: A minor reshuffle is needed to bring former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali back into the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) committee, says Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

The Deputy Prime Minister said Armizan, who is now Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, was no longer in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs.

Following a Cabinet reshuffle last year, the responsibility has been taken over by Fadillah.

“We will discuss this during the MA63 committee, please wait because there will be some reshuffle,” he said.

Fadillah was responding to a question whether the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) had discussed on the formula for the 40% tax revenue owed by Putrajaya to Sabah.

“He (Armizan) is no longer in charge of Sabah and Sarawak, so we have to reorganise the structure and then only can we have a meeting and submit a new paper,” he said.

Fadillah also said he paid a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor on Friday to seek his input on the issues regarding MA63.

“That’s why we sat down and get direction from him (Hajiji).

“What I am going to do as far as the MA63 is concerned is to get both Armizan and (Penampang MP) Datuk Ewon Benedick to sit in the committee.

“Then, we will start our discussion,” he said.

Benedick, who is a member of MTPMA63 and the MTPMA63 technical committee had last month said he would submit a proposed framework to the federal and Sabah governments for the payment mechanism of the 40% tax revenue owed by Putrajaya.

The Upko president, a Pakatan Harapan component, said the proposed framework would take into account technical issues related to the availability of data related to the collection of federal revenue in Sabah since 1974.

“The framework will offer a more practical step forward to realise the payment,” said Benedick, who is also the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister.