KIMANIS: Barisan Nasional’s promise to return the rights of Sabah and Sarawak as stated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) is not just a manifesto nor due to pressure from the opposition, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The promise, says the BN deputy chairman, is in fact proof that the Federal and state government are making efforts to provide what is rightfully Sabah and Sarawak’s, with most of the rights contained in MA63 being implemented.
“For example, the 90 per cent teaching workforce rate in Sabah and Sarawak is almost completed. Even the oil and gas issue was included in the BN manifesto after it was brought to cabinet and accepted by the prime minister.
“What is happening now is that the opposition has to admit that its accusations regarding MA63 are no longer valid because they have been addressed by the Federal and state governments,” he said at a ‘meet the people’ session in Kimanis.
Also present were Foreign Minister and BN Kimanis chairman Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, as well as Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin.
Zahid said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s promises to return rights that were accidentally taken during the 22-year-old reign of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad showed that the government was concerned with ensuring that the contents of MA63 is implemented.
‘If there were matters that had been missed or left unresolved, the prime minister (Najib) will find a way to resolve it. He has already appointed Anifah to represent the Federal government to study these matters,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zahid said the people of Kimanis should be proud of Anifah, who is among the most respected Foreign Ministers on the global stage for his commitment to voice Malaysia’s stand on numerous key subjects including the plight of the Palestinians and the Rohingya.
Anifah, he said, never tires of championing global issues even if they are not directly related to Malaysia, and had to sacrifice his family time for the purpose.
“There was a time, his wife was ill but he still went abroad to represent Malaysia. With Anifah being mostly abroad, we understand if the people of Kimanis feel slighted but we have never neglected this area. We will continue to bring development,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid added he was confident that the people of Kimanis would give their support to ensure a BN victory although they have to face the opposition, including former BN leaders, during the 14th General Election.
“I will be back with allocations to meet the needs of the people here when we win. As such, I want the majority in Kimanis to be increased to 10,000, plus 7, 000 in Bongawan and 5,000 in Membakut,” he said.
In the last election, the BN majority in Kimanis stood at 5,453. The Bongawan state seat had a 5,730 majority while the Membakut state seat had a 3,499 majority.
At the same event, Zahid also presented allocation cheques for church repair works in the Kimanis parliamentary constituency.