KOTA KINABALU: The Sarawak government has reiterated its continued commitment to fight for the rights and protections of the states in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), including the aspiration of one-third parliamentary representation for Sabah and Sarawak and the implementation of the Order under Article 95C of the Federal Constitution.

Sarawak Attorney-General, Dato Sri Saferi Ali, said efforts to restore constitutional balance as intended during the formation of Malaysia continue to be implemented through legal and constitutional channels, based on the spirit of MA63 and the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) Report.

According to him, historically, the allocation of one-third parliamentary representation for Sabah and Sarawak has served as an institutional safeguard mechanism to ensure the meaningful participation of the Borneo states in the process of law-making and amendments to the Federal Constitution.

“This effort is being implemented through structured engagement, consensus building and full compliance with the Federal Constitution, MA63 and the IGC Report,” he said when delivering his speech during the Opening Ceremony of the Sabah and Sarawak Legislative Year 2026 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) on Friday.

He also informed that several matters related to MA63 had made significant progress, among them the amendment of the Sarawak Labour Ordinance which came into effect on 1 May 2025, thus restoring Sarawak’s regulatory autonomy in labour matters.

In addition, the reclassification of Bintulu Port as a state port also strengthened Sarawak’s role in the state’s economic governance.

However, Dato Sri Saferi said there were still matters that had not been finalised, including the need to gazette an Order under Article 95C of the Federal Constitution to empower the Sarawak Government to manage scheduled waste.

“This matter has been agreed by all parties and its implementation needs to be expedited to enable Sarawak to have full control over environmental management,” he said.

Meanwhile, he welcomed the High Court decision which confirmed Sabah's right to 40 per cent of state revenue under Article 112C of the Federal Constitution, stressing that the decision also confirmed the Federation's obligations towards Sarawak, subject to judicial review.

He said that under Article 112D, Sarawak was entitled to periodic financial reviews and ongoing negotiations to achieve a fair and transparent method.

“The Sarawak Government has submitted a formula to the Federal Government to expedite the financial review process. Pending the finalisation of the formula, the Interim Special Grant has been increased to RM600 million per annum starting 2025,” he said.

He added that Sarawak would continue to negotiate constructively and in good faith, with the hope that a sustainable long-term solution could be reached to strengthen the Federation of Malaysia as a whole.

The ceremony was also attended by the Chief Justice of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Utama Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, the President of the Court of Appeal, Dato’ Abu Bakar Jais, Attorney General of Malaysia, Tan Sri Dato’ Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, Chief Justice of Malaya, Dato’ Hashim Hamzah, Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak, Datuk Azizah Nawawi, Attorney General of Sabah, Datuk Brenndon Keith Soh and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), M. Kulasegaran V. Murugeson.-UKASnews

Translator: Ryan Lim