This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 30, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Lembah Pantai member of parliament (MP) Fahmi Fadzil has clarified that Pakatan Harapan’s election promise to properly enforce the Malaysia Agreement 1963 to uphold the rights of Sarawak and Sabah is facing difficulties due to the country’s current fiscal position.

Fahmi was referring specifically to the coalition’s pledge to increase oil royalties for Sarawak and other oil producing states to 20%.

“In principal, if something was signed, we have to honour it. [But we cannot proceed] due to practical considerations right now; we want to do it but we are severely in debt now,” he said during a forum organised by the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia at Sunway University yesterday.

Promise number eight of Pakatan’s 10 promises within 100 days in power is to set up a Special Cabinet Committee to properly enforce the Malaysia Agreement 1963. However, no concrete plan has been announced by the government so far towards this end. Fahmi said the government needs to review the election promises and requests due to the fiscal legacy of the previous administration.

“I think the tremendous amount of economic and fiscal problems that we now find ourselves in today does not warrant papering over or just closing our eyes and just blindly working towards fulfilling a lot of our promises. It is definitely very important for us to fulfil our promises where they are practical, but we have to now match with the reality that we have a lot of debt. We are paying today for the sins of yesterday. This is terrible and should not be happening to us,” he added.

The issue of Sarawak rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 was raised during the forum by former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and the current MP for Batang Sadong, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, highlighting that Sarawak needs the oil royalties to develop the state.

“The agreement was supposed to safeguard the interests of Sarawakians and Sabahans,” she said.

Nancy said after her party, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, exited the Barisan Nasional coalition and formed Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), she is more open to discussing and pressing the government for the rights of Sarawakians.

“We can assert our rights, especially under GPS; we do not feel that fear to address what should be ours and what we should claim as ours under the Constitution. Arguing about the oil royalties is something that is very new to us. Last time, if we were to go against the chief whip here, it would not look good for the party. Now we empower ourselves to choose what we want to do and what we feel right for ourselves,” Nancy added.