STATEMENTS about the country should not imply any division between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak.

Minister of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Datuk Shafie Apdal said leaders and the mass media should refer to the country simply as Malaysia instead of "Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak".

"Let us not encourage the use of such words as though there is a division," he said.

Shafie said this in reply to a supplementary question by Datuk Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) yesterday.

To another supplementary question by Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor), he said the 20-point agreement signed during the formation of Malaysia with the two states did not need a review.
Shafie said the important thing was to be forward-looking and refrain from raising a debate on the agreement as this would stoke sentiments.

"Malaysians are demanding that development be a priority, and that should be our priority.

"What we need to look at is the perspective of faster development in terms of the present infrastructure - this must be the emphasis for Malaysians at all levels and not only in Sabah."