KUCHING, Feb 14 — Sarawak’s laws are not inferior to others in the country and the state has every right to implement them, said Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.

The Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) stressed that this is part of four non-negotiable matters under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

She said these include immigration rights as well as the continental shelf and natural resources found within the boundary.

“These are non-negotiable because these fall under our land law, land is under the State List. So, these are matters that are non-negotiable and that is our right to our natural resources that is found within that continental shelf.

“So, these are non-negotiable and we want the people to know that we never compromise on it.

“We have every right to implement our laws. Nobody can say our law is inferior, that we don’t have the right to our laws, for instance like the Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO), or Land Code,” she said in a special interview with The Sarawak Initiatives’ Prof James Chin recently.

She pointed out that the OMO was never annulled or cancelled.

“So we have every right to enforce it. It can always co-exist with any other laws in the country. So, these are the four non-negotiable matters that we have under MA63.”

She called on Sarawakians to support Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg to ensure that the state government’s fight for rights under MA63 can be achieved.

“The priority is always Sarawak First, but he needs the full support of the people. It has to be full. Negotiation (with Putrajaya) is not easy, but we are pursuing it.

“The Premier can only do it if he is strong politically as no one wants to listen to a Sarawakian who does not have any clout. So, it is important that we support the Premier in this,” she stressed.

The Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy women’s chief said the state government is fighting for future generations so that it would be easier for them to negotiate further.

Sharifah Hasidah said among the outstanding matters to be resolved are the 35 per cent state representation in Parliament and autonomy over education and health matters. — The Borneo Post