Ismail, who is chairman of a special council on MA63, said the council not only played a role in unravelling some pending issues regarding the rights and status of Sabah and Sarawak, but also emphasised efforts to develop the two states.
“At the Malaysia Day celebration last year, the federal government had given an assurance to pay close attention to issues related to the interests of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
Quoting a Malay idiom, “bersukat sama paras, bertimbang sama berat”, he said the government wanted Sabah and Sarawak to enjoy rapid development just like the states in the peninsula.
“The government is also committed to eliminating the development gap and this was proven by the allocation of RM5.6 billion given to Sabah and RM4 billion to Sarawak this year,” he said at the national-level Malaysia Day celebration here tonight.
The prime minister said the passage of a constitutional amendment on Dec 14 last year was also proof of the government’s seriousness to strengthen the status of Sabah and Sarawak in the federation.
He said that was also in line with the government’s transformation agenda to restore the confidence of the public, as well as that of foreign investors, in the government’s capability to ensure political stability and national policies towards sustainable socioeconomic development.
“History proves that it was not easy to form Malaysia, to build understanding and reach a consensus among the Malay states, Sabah and Sarawak, as well as Singapore.
“The resistance that was present at that time was both internal and external, including communist insurgency, the confrontation against the formation of Malaysia, economic challenges, as well as religious, racial, cultural and linguistic conflicts.
“Nevertheless, we made it through, thanks to the determination and wisdom of our previous leaders,” he said.
States to host Malaysia Day celebration in turn
The Cabinet has agreed that the national-level Malaysia Day celebration will be held by rotation among all states, communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa announced.
Melaka was selected as the host this year.
Annuar said this year’s celebration was special because it was being held in the peninsula for the first time, as it had always been organised alternately between Sabah and Sarawak.
“We want the people to be able to celebrate the historical day in their respective states to truly understand and commemorate the significance of the date of Sept 16,” he said.