KUCHING: Amendments to Article 95C of the Federal Constitution to give Sabah and Sarawak authority over scheduled waste management will be tabled in Parliament this December.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the matter was agreed upon at the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim here yesterday.
“For Scheduled Waste, amendments to Article 95C of the Constitution will be tabled in Parliament, expected this December.
“This will give Sabah and Sarawak authority to manage solid waste and other related matters,” he told reporters during a press conference after the meeting at Satria Pertiwi Complex.
Fadillah said another decision reached was that any judicial appointments involving Sabah and Sarawak must first be referred to the respective Head of State, with proper consultation involving the Premier of Sarawak and the Chief Minister of Sabah.
“This too will later be formalised through constitutional amendment.”
He also said that the appointments will go through the Judicial Appointments Commission, which will recommend candidates.
“These recommendations will then be submitted to Sabah and Sarawak via the Head of State process. At the federal level, appointments of other judges are referred to the King and confirmed by the Conference of Rulers.”
So far, 13 claims under the MA63 negotiation platform have been resolved, nine of them during the current Madani administration.
These include recognition of the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) of Sabah and Sarawak as technical departments under Treasury Instruction 182; amendments to the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia Act 1995 to appoint representatives from both state governments as permanent board members; devolution of regulatory power over gas supply in Sabah; judicial administration in Sabah and Sarawak; special guidelines for the return of reserved federal land in both states; devolution of regulatory power over electricity supply in Sabah; proposed amendments to Article 95B of the Federal Constitution on legislative powers; amendments to the Sabah and Sarawak Labour Ordinances; and the conversion of Bintulu Port from a federal port to a state port.
