PETALING JAYA: A political analyst said Prime Minister Najib Razak would have scored points if he had used his keynote speech at the Umno general assembly to resolve a controversy over the status of Sabah and Sarawak in the Malaysian federation.

Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said the issue was of great significance to Umno because of the party’s presence in Sabah.

He was referring to reports that Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia had said Sabah and Sarawak were equal in stature with the states of West Malaysia and that rights bestowed on them under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) had not been eroded.

Azman said Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg’s critcism of Pandikar Amin had indicated the importance of a reaction from Najib. The chief minister had said the people of Sarawak cared only about what the prime minister had to say on the matter.

However, Azman said, Najib had failed to use his speech at the Umno assembly to respond to this contentious issue.

He said Najib’s failure to clarify his stand on the issue was bound to make some in Sabah and Sarawak suspect that Umno had no concern for them and that he was taking their support for granted.