Amend Federal Constitution at next sitting, says DAP
Published on: Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: DAP Sabah says the Government should propose an amendment to the Federal Constitution at the next parliamentary sitting before the coming 14th general election in order to fulfil Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's words that "Sabah and Sarawak rights will be restored if mistakenly taken away by the Federal Government."In his concluding remarks at the Umno General Assembly 2017, Najib has said that the rights accorded to Sabah and Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) will be restored. "According to him, if there are any violations, the Federal Government will restore it back to the people of Sabah," said DAP Sabah Secretary cum Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Chan Foong Hin.
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"We don't want lip service only. He should not think that by promising so, Sabahans would be pacified. DAP Sabah demands that the Najib administration restore our rights accorded in MA63 by tabling an amendment to the Federal Constitution at the next parliamentary sitting before the 'mother of all elections' is called."The proposed amendment is not new. DAP Sabah Chairman cum Sandakan MP Stephen Wong has proposed his private member's bill twice in 2016 but rejected by our fellow Sabahan (Tan Sri) Pandikar Amin, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat."Chan said DAP Sabah is of the view that firstly, there should be an amendment to the composition of the Federation as stated in Article 1(2), where the Federal Constitution is amended by deleting the existing Article 1(2), and inserting in its place the following, new Article 1(2) – "(2) The Federation shall comprise of (a) The states of the Federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, namely, Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Pulau Pinang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu; (b) Sabah; and (c) Sarawak."
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"The purpose is to reflect the original spirit of the formation of Malaysia, where Sabah and Sarawak were meant to be equal partners in the formation of Federation of Malaysia."He said secondly, there should be an insertion of the definition of "Malaysia Day" into Article 160(2), where the following shall be inserted into Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution, immediately preceding the definition of the phrase "member of the administration" – "Malaysia Day" means the sixteenth day of September, nineteen hundred and sixty-three;"
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"It is embarrassing that until today, more than five decades after the formation of Malaysia, the Federal Constitution still does not have a definition of "Malaysia Day"."Consequent to the above, there should be incorporation of the references to "Malaysia Day" in various places in the Federal Constitution.Thirdly, there should be an amendment to the definition of "the Federation" as follows:The Federal Constitution is amended by deleting the existing definition of "the Federation" in Article 160(2), and inserting in its place the following new definition. "The Federation" means (a) in relation to any time after the coming into operation of the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, and before Malaysia Day, the Federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957; and (b) in relation to any time on and after Malaysia Day, the Federation established under the Malaysia Agreement 1963;""As of now, the only Federation recognised by the Federal Constitution of Malaysia is only the 1957 Federation of Malaya. It is therefore not surprising that there are currently loud voices calling for the cessation of Sabah from Malaysia, because the legitimacy of the Federal Constitution itself seems doubtful, when applied to Sabah."Hence, this historical embarrassment must be corrected without further delay, to remove all doubts about such legitimacy, in the interests of national unity."This is to give real effect to the safeguards, assurances and undertakings given by MA63 itself, by allowing the courts of Malaysia to legally enforce the same in any legal action instituted by any individual citizen, to the extent that the Federal and/or Sabah governments still neglect or refuse to implement them."Otherwise, the minimum protections given by MA63 would be rendered illusory.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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