Political suicide not to support
Published on: Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Umno Secretary Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun (pic) is confident that all Sabah and Sarawak MPs from both sides of the political divide will vote for necessary amendments to the Federal Constitution to return rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to Sabah and Sarawak."It would be sort of a political suicide for any MP from the two states not to support the amendment," he said.Masidi, who is Karanaan Assemblyman, is also confident that MPs from Umno and PAS in the peninsula will support the amendment knowing the political repercussions if they don't.
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"Sabah and Sarawak have 56 MPs. In a tight election, any party or parties from the peninsula need the support of East Malaysian MPs to form the government of the day. Support from Sabah and Sarawak MPs determines who take over the Federal Government," he said.Masidi was commenting on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement that he was not convinced that the opposition would support the move to restore equal partner status to Sabah and Sarawak.Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying Monday morning that the opposition's support was needed to make up the necessary two-thirds majority before the Federal Constitution can be amended."In order to restore equal partner status to Sabah and Sarawak, Article 1(2) of the Constitution would need to be changed and restored to the wording prior to the 1976 amendment which indicated the East Malaysian states as a separate territory from the Federation of Malaya," he said.
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Masidi said the best way to find out whether the opposition would support the amendment is to table the necessary amendment in the Dewan Rakyat, preferably during this coming October sitting."Making an assumption that the opposition will not support it would only create a suspicion that the government of the day is not serious in getting it done – a convenient excuse not to proceed with giving Sabah and Sarawak their rightful place in the federation," he said.
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He added that Sabahan and Sarawakians are closely watching the reaction of MPs from the peninsula to the proposal to return the rights of the two states as stipulated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63)."Failure to get it done could result in another political realignment in the 15th General Election (GE15)."This will not be good for the country," said Masidi.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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