KOTA KINABALU, Oct 2 — The process of appointing Sabah and Sarawak representatives to the Inland Revenue Board (IR) board of directors is expected to be tabled in the next Parliament sitting, scheduled from October 9 to November 30.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said this involves the tabling of the amendment bill, which is important to strengthen the appointment process through legislation.
Although representatives from Sabah and Sarawak are now on the IRB Board of Directors, the appointments were done administratively and are retractable, he said, adding that the Federal Cabinet on June 5 this year passed a proposal to amend the IRB Act to provide for the appointment of the Sabah and Sarawak representatives as IRB Board Members.
“We know the importance of having representatives (from) Sabah and Sarawak so that Sabah and Sarawak have access to information related to revenue collection to make other demands, for example, related to special grants,” Armizan said.
He was speaking to the press after the Wacana Madani programme with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions), MA63: Sabah’s 60-Year Aspirations in Malaysia, at Menara Kinabalu today.
Armizan, who is the Papar MP, said the move was a commitment by the Federal government reflecting the political will to interpret the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), particularly in resolving the pending issues in the agreement.
The matter was one of the pending issues in MA63 and had been raised by the Sabah and Sarawak governments in the MA63 Special Council Meeting on October 18 last year.
The membership of Sabah and Sarawak representatives in the IRM was halted when the IRB and related laws were abolished and regulated by the IRB Department starting in 1967 and then continued by the IRB, which was established in 1996 under the IRB Act.
Meanwhile, he reminded all parties to give meaning to the struggle for the demands in MA63 so that it can be implemented through the union and the Federal Constitution as a reference, as well as the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) report.
— Bernama
