KUCHING: The Technical Committee under the Action Council for the Implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MTPMA63) will examine the outcome of negotiations between the federal government and the Sarawak Government on the review of the special grant under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution before any formula is finalised.
Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof, said the matter had been agreed at the MTPMA63 level, including efforts to formulate a distribution formula for allocations under Article 112D that took into account national interests as well as the rights of Sabah and Sarawak as enshrined in the Constitution.
“Currently, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has already held discussions with Sabah. After this, it will hold discussions with Sarawak. Sarawak already has its own formula, and the Federal Government is also looking at it from its perspective.
“Once discussions have taken place, the outcome will be reported to the technical committee chaired by me, and we will examine it before it is finalised,” he told reporters when met at the Annual Grant Handover Ceremony for Mosques and Surau in the Petra Jaya parliamentary constituency here on Saturday night.
Fadillah, who is also Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, said that so far no formula had been agreed upon, and that the decision would depend on the outcome of negotiations between the MOF and the Sarawak State Financial Secretary’s Office.
“As for what the formula will be, we do not know yet. We will wait for the discussions and once it is finalised at the technical committee level, we will inform our friends in the media,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance, in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat, said the federal government would hold negotiations with the Sarawak Government this year to implement a review of the amount of the special grant under Article 112D, in line with provisions that required the review to be carried out every five years.
Last Friday, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said Sarawak would propose that the amount of the special grant to the state be determined based on a percentage of revenue generated by the state.
At the event, Fadillah, who is also Petra Jaya Member of Parliament, presented grants to 30 mosques and 60 suraus in his parliamentary constituency, involving a total allocation of RM330,000. – BERNAMA
