Kuala Lumpur: The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government fulfilled its promise to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with Peninsular Malaysia with the tabling of the Bill to amend the Federal Constitution at the Dewan Rakyat, Thursday.Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong (pic) tabled the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 for its first reading before Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof.
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He said the second reading of the Bill would also take place during the current session of Dewan Rakyat.
The Bill seeks to substitute Clause 2 of Article 1 of the Federal Constitution to specify all the constituent States of the Federation during the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
This amendment is made in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement concluded in 1963 (MA63), besides to satisfy the aspiration and hope of the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak. The amendment does not, in any way, alter the functions of the federal and state governments under the concept of federalism.
During the 14th General Election (GE14) campaign last year, PH pledged, among others, to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s equal partner status.
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For the record, when Malaysia was formed through MA63, Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution was amended by inserting the definition of the States of the Federation as comprising Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (now independent).
The 1976 amendment to the original Article, however, reduced the status of Sarawak and Sabah to among the 13 states in Malaysia.
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Earlier, several Members of Parliament (MPs) from Sabah and Sarawak called for the tabling of the Bill to be postponed.
Kota Marudu MP Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili who raised the issue called for further consultation on the amendment at the Sabah and Sarawak State Assembly and at the Parliament Select Committee levels.
“This is a crucial amendment, it is not just a change to insert Sabah and Sarawak as two words, it has multiple implications in terms of instrument and law,” he said.
Keningau MP Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan demanded the scheduled tabling of the Bill to be withdrawn based on Standing Order 34 (1) which stated that “a motion or an amendment may be withdrawn at the request of the mover before the question is fully put thereon.”
Bera MP cum Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, on the other hand, claimed that the tabling of the Bill was pointless, and seemed to be belittling the Federal Constitution.
“There is only a line or two. This is like playing around, there should be a more comprehensive explanation,” he said.
Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (GPS-Santubong) said that the Prime Minister is currently chairing a steering committee on MA63, which has yet to finalise its findings and recommendations.
He also said that lawmakers were not given the 24-hour notice before a Bill is tabled for the first reading in the House.
Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (Star-Keningau) said the Bill should be retracted as more discussion was needed and agreed upon before it is tabled.
He also said the proposed amendments must also be brought to the state assemblies in Sabah and Sarawak.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob stood up and said the amendments proposed in the Bill were “devoid of comprehensive details” on the proposed amendments.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the Bill should not be done in a piecemeal manner.
“This is not what the people in Sabah and Sarawak aspire to or want. There must be more engagement on this matter to get feedback from stakeholders,” he said.
Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof (Petrajaya-GPS) supported the call for a select committee to be formed to look into the decision of the steering committee chaired by the Prime Minister.
“Whatever suggestions and amendments should be brought to the select committee. This is because the proposed amendments do not only affect Sabah and Sarawak but also impact Peninsular Malaysia too,” he said.
Most GPS, Sabah opposition and Barisan Nasional lawmakers stood up to demand the bill be retracted.
Some even urged Pakatan Harapan MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to stand with them, while others accused the Pakatan government of bulldozing the Bill through.
Speaker Mohamad Ariff allowed the Bill to be tabled in accordance with Standing Order 48 that the notice on the matter was submitted on Tuesday.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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