He said on that principle, the people in Sarawak had been urged to give a huge mandate to the state government led by Chief Minister Adenan Satem in the coming state election to ensure the path of negotiations remained open.

“If the negotiations were made with other parties, the claims will not be entertained,” he said when debating the motion of thanks on the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat today.

The first phase of negotiations between Sarawak and Putrajaya saw the Federal Government agreeing to grant 13 administrative powers to the state government.

Prior to this, Adenan was reported as saying that the second phase of negotiations would involve the state’s rights and the third related to its financial management.

Ahmad Lai said the devolution of powers would smoothen further various administrative matters and processes in making decisions at state level for faster implementation without having to go through many levels of bureaucracy.

He also stressed that the claim for administrative powers was not an attempt to take Sarawak out of Malaysia but only to claim existing rights that had not been reviewed.

Touching on the Pan-Borneo Highway, Ahmad Lai said it was proof of the strong commitment by Prime Minister Najib Razak to Sarawak and Sabah, which had been neglected by earlier federal leaders.

He said Najib was farsighted on the need for the highway to spur economic growth as well as boost rural development by shortening the journeys to major towns in Sarawak and Sabah.

He said the Federal Government had pledged the 1,663km highway would be built and so far two phases of construction had begun, in Telok Melano, near Kuching, and Bakun, near Bintulu.

“About 936km of the highway will be built in Sarawak territory while another 727km will be in Sabah,” Ahmad Lai said.

– BERNAMA