Sarawak will object should there be an amendment to the Stamp Act 1949 that would give the federal government the right to collect the duties.

The federal government has been collecting the stamp duties which should be collected by the state.

This was one of the issues former chief minister Datuk   Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem tried to rectify.

Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said the amendment of the act should be looked into rationally as stamp duties are derived from signed documents based on the land code.

“We in Sarawak have our own land code. We are just observers and we are not members of the National Land Council because lands are autonomous to us.

“Hence if the Stamp Act is amended, therefore we feel that this stamp duty has to be returned to Sarawak,” he said at the Malaysian Senator Council (MSC) dinner held at a leading hotel here on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Abang Johari stressed that this does not mean that the state has any intentions of seceding from Malaysia.

“There is no such thing…we will forever be in Malaysia,” he remarked.

He also reiterated that as the new chief minister, he will continue the efforts of the late Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem including negotiating the return of Sarawak’s autonomous powers which have eroded over the years.

“When we request to take back our powers from Putrajaya to Petra Jaya, there were some people who opined that maybe our request may indirectly bring adverse effects.

“What we are asking for is our autonomous powers which have either directly or indirectly eroded without us realising it,” he said.

The dinner was to welcome the MSC delegation led by its president Senator Datuk Seri Khairudin E S Abdul Samad who is here on an official visit to the state until today.

Also present during the dinner were Abang Johari’s wife Datin Amar Juma’ani Tuanku Bujang, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing, and Local Government Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by Marilyn Ten

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]