Placing the report under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) raised the suspicion that the government had something to hide, said Johan Ariffin, chairman of the Sabah Action Body Advocating Rights Trustees.
“The people of Sabah and Sarawak have been waiting for 58 years to be recognised as equal partners and their rights restored,” he told FMT. “We are against the final report being put under the OSA.”
A deputy minister said last year that the final report of the special Cabinet committee to review the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 had been classified as an official secret under the OSA.
Last week, Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Maximus Ongkili told the Dewan Rakyat “the reports are quite technical and the documents are confidential”. They should be protected, as provided by the law, but the government would make announcements once the parties had reached a common stand, he said.
Johan said the public was already aware that 17 of 21 issues pertaining to MA63 had been negotiated and resolved. The outstanding issues include oil royalty, cash payment for petroleum and oil fields, the Territorial Sea Act 2012 and the Continental Shelf Act 1966.
“So the information is already in the public domain,” said Johan. “These 21 points are the starting point to restoring what had been taken away from Sabah and Sarawak, including its oil resources and rights to taxes.”
He added that the three successive governments since the 2018 general election had promised a resolution to the MA63 issue but that none had delivered yet.
Sabah human rights activist Patrick Sindu said the MA63 issue is actually known by people outside the country, too, so if the federal government withholds information considered important to the people of Sabah and Sarawak, it will jeopardise the nation’s reputation.
He said it was high time the government did “something concrete” to resolve the long-standing MA63 issue.
Academicians Tony Paridi Bagang and Romzi Ationg said Ongkili was bound to confidentiality over the ongoing negotiations but there must be items that Ongkili could share with the public without jeopardising the process.
“At least, let the public be informed of the progress of the talks. People should not be put in limbo,” he told FMT. “It is vital for the government via its special committee on MA63 to respond effectively.”
Romzi was also in favour of making the MA63 final report public but urged the people to give Ongkili some breathing space for now.
“Sabahans and Sarawakians have the right to know but let us leave him for a while to do what is necessary. This key issue in Sabah and Sarawak politics must be dealt with wisely,” he said.