In a statement, Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman said the state was only demanding what had been promised.
“The demands are based on the original Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Federal Constitution. As the late Adenan Satem stressed, ‘no more, no less’,” Fazzrudin said, referring to Sarawak’s former chief minister.
Fazzrudin, who is the chief political secretary to Abang Johari Openg, was responding to a PKR MP’s remarks that the federal government was being challenged by various states.
Earlier today, Hassan Karim cited Sarawak’s decision to replace “chief minister” with “premier”, the establishment of Petroliam Sarawak Bhd (Petros), and educational autonomy as examples of how certain states were challenging the federal government.
The Pasir Gudang MP also drew parallels with separatist movements in other countries in the past, warning of potential threats to Malaysia’s unity if such demands were not addressed wisely.
On the establishment of Petros and issues related to oil and gas, Fazzrudin said these were inevitable due to existing laws, such as the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 and the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016.
He said the same applies to matters of education and the use of English in Sarawak, as outlined in Paragraph 17 of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC) 1962.
“Therefore, the demands and claims from Sarawak should not pose a challenge to the federal system. Rather, each issue or right being claimed is in accordance with Sarawak’s rights under the Federal Constitution,” he said.
“These rights are further reinforced by MA63, which is upheld through good and harmonious diplomacy and negotiations between both the state and federal governments.”
Fazzrudin also said giving Sarawak its rights demonstrates the federal government’s ability to cooperate effectively with the state government and it was not a weakness.
“Sarawak’s boldness in claiming its rights was encouraged by the federal government’s willingness to listen to the state government’s concerns, unlike in the past, and not due to any perceived weakness as suggested by the Pasir Gudang MP,” he said.