KUALA LUMPUR: June 29, 2026 – The government is standing by its decision not to make public the final report of the Cabinet Special Committee on the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), as it contains technical discussions and is classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs), Datuk Ts. Mustapha Sakmud, said this in response to a supplementary question from Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis during oral question time in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.
He said that of the 29 claims discussed under official MA63 platforms, 13 matters had been resolved, five had been settled on an interim basis, while 11 remained unresolved.
According to him, four of the 11 outstanding claims are oil royalties and petroleum cash payments, oil minerals and oil fields, the Territorial Sea Act 2012, and state rights over the continental shelf.
He said these four matters are currently at the consideration stage and involve top-level decisions between the Prime Minister, the Sarawak Premier and the Sabah Chief Minister.
Earlier, Isnaraissah had asked when the report – completed in 2019 – would be made public, as she believes it forms the basis for negotiations between the federal government, Sabah and Sarawak.
“I am asking when the government will open this report to public knowledge because I believe this report is also the basis for negotiations for subsequent governments,” she said.
She noted that four of the 11 outstanding matters mentioned by the minister are of greatest public interest in Sabah: oil royalties and petroleum cash payments; oil minerals and oil fields; the Territorial Sea Act (Act 750); and state rights over the continental shelf.
Isnaraissah said if the report has served as the basis for MA63 negotiations over the past several years, the people of Sabah also have the right to know its contents so that the process of implementing Sabah’s rights can be understood more transparently.
In a separate supplementary question, she also raised the status of the claim for Sabah and Sarawak to have 35 per cent of total parliamentary seats, in line with the spirit of Malaysia’s formation.
In response, Mustapha said the claim remains unresolved and is currently being studied by the Election Commission (SPR).
He said any increase in parliamentary seats would require a re-delineation study and an amendment to Article 46 of the Federal Constitution, which would need the support of a two-thirds majority of Dewan Rakyat members.
