“A National Committee on Sabah and Sarawak’s Constitutional Rights would be the way forward,” said Teo in a statement in Daily Express.
He said the proposal was brought up in the state cabinet “and we agreed that it would be good for Sabah”.
He was questioning former Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, now with the Opposition, “roaring like lions on Sabah rights”.
“They were in the Sabah Government,” he reminded. “There was no talk of state rights when they were in the government.”
Now, he said, they were aggressively championing state rights. “It’s amusing.”
In Sabah, he added, there were two committees, one chaired by him on special grants pursuant to Part IV of the 10th Schedule of the Federal Constitution and the other chaired by the state secretary on devolution of powers.
He said that state rights meant there must be a committee representing the Sabah Government and reporting to the Sabah Cabinet.
The Putrajaya-initiated federal-level committee on Sabah and Sarawak was nevertheless a good step, Teo hastened to add.
He was referring to a committee chaired by Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri.
“It shows the seriousness of the Federal Government in addressing issues on Borneo rights,” said Teo.
The Sabah Government supported the Anifah-Nancy federal committee, he assured.
“However, it must be noted that the committee is a creature of the Federal Cabinet,” said Teo. “It’s answerable to the Federal Cabinet.”