Bill fails to get two-thirds majority support; just shy of 10 votes
KUALA LUMPUR: The Constitutional Amendment Bill to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with the Federation of Malaya as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 failed to get the required two thirds majority support in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
It was shy of 10 votes to meet the threshold of 148 votes in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof in announcing the result said: “This Bill cannot proceed further because it did not get the two-thirds majority support from the Members of Parliament”.
In the block voting, 138 MPs supported the Bill, none objected while 59 abstained.
The Bill was introduced for the second reading by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at 2.30pm. Forty-six MPs debated it with the bulk of them from Sabah and Sarawak.
The voting for the Bill was preceded by a motion to send it to a Select Committee for further deliberation, which resulted in the motion being defeated with a vote of 60 for, to 130 against with one abstention.
Santubong Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar presented the motion at 10.15 pm for the Bill to be sent to the Select Committee with the reason that the government was rushing it.
“We are convinced that such an important matter should not be rushed and the Article should be amended holistically with all other ensuing provisions included so that the proposed amendment will have the intended effect,” said Wan Junaidi when met in Parliament.
Member of Parliament for Petra Jaya Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusuf started the ball rolling for GPS when the Speaker set aside 20 minutes for him to debate the Bill.
Among the leaders from GPS besides the two MPs who participate in the debate were Datuk Seri Nancy Sukri (Batang Sadong), Datuk Alexander Linggi (Kapit), Datuk Rohani Karim (Batang Lupar), Wilson Ugak (Hulu Rajang) and Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (Bintulu).
The Sarawakian MPs speaking vehemently for the PH government were Dr Kelvin Yii (Bandar Kuching), Mordi Bhimol (Mas Gading), Ali Biju (Saratok), Alice Lau (Lanang) and Willie Mongin (Puncak Borneo).
Dr Yii who was an ever-present advocate for the government made his presence felt having something to say every time any parliamentarian spoke on either side of the divide.
The debates for the second reading were friendly and brisk throughout.
Sabah Chief Minister and president of Party Warisan, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, was a puzzled man when met outside Parliament, having difficulty coming to terms with the verdict.
“We had this opportunity to start the process with the first amendment and I thought the Prime Minister had been clear in assuring that all the matters ensuing would have been dealt with so I’m wondering why they chose to abstain,” quipped Shafie.
When asked on the possibility of having another Bill introduced after the cabinet committee concluded the talks, he said, “I don’t know because we had the chance today to agree on one thing and later we will need to agree on multiple matters, so if we can’t agree on one matter now how are we going to agree on more later?”
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