PH disappointed with decision to postpone MA63 bill
Published on: Monday, October 25, 2021
By: FMT
_(1)_(1).jpg "PH disappointed with decision to postpone MA63 bill")
Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the second reading of the bill would be moved to another date and not on Oct 28 as initially scheduled.
PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) has expressed disappointment over the government’s decision to postpone the constitutional amendments to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
The PH presidential council noted that despite media reports saying the bill would be tabled in Parliament on Oct 26, this matter will not be debated and passed on Oct 28 as previously informed.
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“This postponement occurred despite the discussions and negotiation process, held in accordance with Article 5 of the memorandum of understanding between the government and PH,” it said in a statement.
Recently, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar was reported as saying that the bill to amend provisions in the Federal Constitution to be in line with MA63 would proceed as scheduled in Parliament on Oct 26.
Wan Junaidi, however, said the second reading of the bill would be moved to another date and not on Oct 28 as initially scheduled.
This was to allow the attorney-general to further explain the proposed amendments to members of the Cabinet, he said.
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“While the Cabinet has, in principle, agreed to and approved the memorandum on the bill, which was tabled during the last meeting on Wednesday, there were several ministers who sought clarification on the proposed amendments,” he added.
The PH presidential council said the coalition fully supported the amendments as they were a continuation of PH’s long-standing efforts which include recognising Malaysia Day and its stand in not supporting the 1976 constitutional amendment of changing the status of Sabah and Sarawak from province to state.
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“Therefore, the law minister must implement the amendments for the sake of justice for the people of Sabah and Sarawak,” it said.
The amendments are meant to rectify the “erosion” of the rights of Sabah and Sarawak which had been stipulated under MA63.
Wan Junaidi said the current amendments were different from those proposed by the PH government in 2018, adding it would define the status of all states in Malaysia in line with the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, MA63 and the position following Singapore’s exit in 1965.
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