However, while personally in support of the idea, Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking warned that the Sabah government was not likely to approve it.
“This is because their political masters, namely Umno, will not agree to it,” he told FMT.
See had put forth the proposal to enable both state governments to create a united front, to pursue the common rights of the East Malaysian states under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
According to a report by the Borneo Post, See said that Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg was the right person to lead the initiative, to deliberate the common rights of Sarawak and Sabah.
See also said the conference should be non-partisan, open to the public and attended by all elected representatives, namely the MPs and assemblypersons.
Darell said unlike politicians and leaders in Sabah, the Sarawak government, opposition and electorate had put the state’s interests above all else.
“They have, from the looks of it, gone beyond politics and are just waiting for a credible new Sabah government to work in tandem with Sarawak to settle this obvious failure to implement MA63,” he said.
He also disagreed with Sabah Special Tasks Minister Teo Chee Kang, who said the Sabah government had decided not to imitate Sarawak but would pursue their case with the federal government “in their own way”.
Darell said the Sarawak government had been doing all the right things regarding the MA63 demands since the leadership of the previous chief minister, the late Adenan Satem.
Darell, who is also Penampang MP, said Abang Johari’s Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) held the majority of Sarawak seats and could theoretically pursue the implementation of MA63 on its own.
“However, I am pretty sure they want the same commitment by the Sabah government as well.”
He added that Teo had mentioned the committee set up by the federal government to look into the matter, led by Kimanis MP and Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, and Batang Sadong MP and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri.
Funnily enough, he said, even though the committee had the blessing of the federal government, the Sarawak chief minister had dismissed the committee, preferring instead to use the power of the Sarawak state assembly to pursue the matter.