The Sarawak premier said the change in the status of the two states to regions was still at the proposal stage, Bernama reported.
Abang Johari was responding to reports on Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi saying that Sabah and Sarawak have been accorded the status of regions and are no longer regarded as states within Malaysia.
The deputy prime minister was reported to have said this as part of his policy speech at the Umno general assembly on Friday. However, he did not mention when the change would come into effect.
According to Abang Johari, the matter still needed to be discussed at the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) meeting between the federal government and Sarawak this Thursday.
“The matter has not been gazetted. It is still a proposal. Indeed, since the beginning, we (Sabah and Sarawak) should have maintained the status as regions, but the situation has changed.
“That is why we amended the Federal Constitution,” he was quoted as saying following an event in Kuching.
Abang Johari was referring to the constitutional amendment which was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 14, 2021, giving Sabah and Sarawak the status of equal partners in the federation.
He said the status of Sabah and Sarawak as regions would be among the key issues to be raised at the MA63 meeting, which will be attended by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The prime minister is scheduled to be in Sarawak on a two-day working visit from Wednesday.
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