Anwar: Sabah and Sarawak demands must be national agenda, not side issues

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has emphasized that the development needs of Sabah and Sarawak must be placed on the national agenda, rather than being treated as secondary issues. He stated that both states require increased attention and resources to develop alongside Peninsular Malaysia. Anwar, addressing his colleagues at the 2026 PKR National Congress, stressed that every nation desires success and that Sabah and Sarawak must be integrated into the broader development agenda of Malaysia.

He argued that the development gaps in these states necessitate larger allocations of resources and more thorough examination of their issues, not merely as state-level political considerations, but as specific matters requiring special attention. Anwar affirmed that the Federal Government and Petronas must cooperate more closely with Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) in fulfilling the aspirations of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), and that Malaysia's progress as a nation depends on fully incorporating Sabah and Sarawak into its development agenda.