Adenan pledges to raise oil royalty again with Putrajaya
He hopes that the Chinese community would work once again with the ruling Barisan Nasional Sarawak (BN).
KUCHING: Oil and gas royalties may be included in the third phase of discussions on the devolution of power from the Federal Government to the Sarawak Government, said Chief Minister Adenan Satem in a statement carried by the local media on the eve of Chinese New Year.
Adenan was hopeful that frank discussions could be held with Putrajaya on the rights of Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), an International Treaty and Trust Deed lodged with the UN.
“We are very much encouraged by the assurance of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that his administration was serious in engaging with Sarawak on the way forward,” said Adenan.
The Sarawak Government, said the Chief Minister in an update, was now in the second phase of discussions with the Federal Government on laws that impinge on state rights under the Federal Constitution and MA63.
Some administrative decisions, added Adenan, would be made in Kuching to expedite decision-making. “Other decisions affecting the state’s interest can be made by the Federal Government but only after consultation with the Sarawak Government.”
Adenan was coming to the crux of the matter. He hopes that the Chinese community would work once again with the ruling Barisan Nasional Sarawak (BN). He assured that the BN was committed to developing Sarawak for all.
The Chinese, he recalled, were the first as a community to answer the call to form a government based on the concept of power-sharing in 1970. “It has worked well.”
However, warned Adenan, the power sharing formula would not work if any one community was excluded from the BN coalition. “There’s no reason for the Chinese community to lose faith in the concept of power-sharing.”
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The BN, he summed up, wants to bring Sarawak “to greater heights of development”.