KUCHING: State Reform Party Sarawak (STAR) president Lina Soo said her worst fears for Sarawak and Sabah have come true following the tabling of the proposed amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution in Parliament Thursday.
Soo said that there is nothing in the amendment that protects Sarawak and Sabah; on the contrary, it leaves Malaya in the driver’s seat with even “greater menacing implications”.
She said the unjust treatment is exacerbated further with a qualifying clause on finance that makes no reference or commitment to equal sharing of wealth and resources.
She said that same clause does not recognise that Sarawak and Sabah should have a bigger or equal share of the economy.
“The Amendment affirms the brand of federalism as practised by the federal government from 1963 with the position no different from current and past practice; and even retrospectively legitimises whatever injustice Sarawak and Sabah have suffered in the past,” said Soo at a press conference here yesterday.
Soo spoke of the original document of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), Annex A Malaysia Bill, Part II, ‘The States of the Federation’, which reads:
4 (1) The Federation shall be known, in Malay and in English, by the name Malaysia.
(2) The States of the Federation shall be –
(a) the States of Malaya, namely, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca,
Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Trengganu; and
(b) the Borneo States, namely, Sabah and Sarawak; and
(c) the State of Singapore.
She then drew the attention of New Sarawak Tribune to the proposed amendment that says:
4 (1) The Federation shall be known, in Malay and in English, by the name Malaysia.
(2) The States of the Federation shall be –
(a) Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Trengganu; and
(b) Sabah and Sarawak.
Soo argued: “Where has the ‘States of Malaya’ gone to, which was one nation and a signatory to the MA63? Why has the ‘Borneo States’, two nations who were signatories to MA63, disappeared?
“ ‘Sabah and Sarawak’ has now emerged in (b) as only one component of the Federation, instead of two component states. Is this not worse than jumping out of the frying pan into the fire?”
Soo said by studying the language and re-arrangement of English in the amendment, it is obvious the amendment is not consistent with MA63.
She said also not consistent with MA63 is the Constitutional Amendment A354 Sec 2 in 1976 which reduced the status of Sarawak and Sabah to the 12th and 13th states.
“Any Act of Parliament which breaches the MA63 cannot be constitutional federal law. Both amendments are wrong, and two wrongs cannot make a right. If we don’t stand up today and stop this nonsense now, we will have third, fourth and fifth wrongs” said Soo.
According to Soo, before Malaysia Day, Britain had always referred to Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei as British Borneo Territories.
“This I have sighted in the British declassified documents at the British National Archives. It is notable that in drafting up the MA63, the British had dropped the Territories label and named Sarawak and Sabah as Borneo States.
“This, I believe is not by accident but by design. The British choose their words carefully,” she added.
