KUCHING: It’s just a “lovely fresh boiled egg which in reality is an empty hopeless piece of shell.”
That, in a nutshell, is how Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Information chief Datuk Idris Buang put it when he described the proposed amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution.
In a hard-hitting statement to the media yesterday, he said Sarawak could not just blindly support a constitutional amendment Bill which he termed as “hollow”.
“By its very wording, tell us what benefit does it bring to Sarawak and Sabah?”
Idris was reacting to state DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s call to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to set aside its ego and pride and support the Bill.
“Where does it say or even imply that Sarawak and Sabah are being given their respective ‘equal party or equal partner’ status to the MA63?
“Be sincere and stop playing safe; ask your PH (Pakatan Harapan) bosses the same thing. The answer is none.
“Say what he (Chong) likes to suit his political love of rhetoric. This proposed Bill is just nothing but a camouflage… something that looks like a lovely fresh boiled egg but in reality, is just an empty hopeless piece of shell.”
Idris said Chong, who is Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, should refer to the “long list of claims” presented by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg and his Sarawak delegation in the Steering Committee.
“There is a litany of things that needs to be responded to by the federal government with honesty and sincerity.
“It includes inter alia, Sarawak’s firm stand on non-negotiable matters pertaining to its rights under the MA63 with regard to land, continental shelf, natural resources including oil and gas, mining rights, the financial review of Special Grant and Capitation Grant and many more,” he said.
He reminded Chong that Sarawak and Sabah need to be equitably allocated their share of parliamentary seats left by Singapore when it exited Malaysia in 1965.
“All these needed to be addressed. We cannot jump to just address Article 1(2) and in the manner as it is – half-heartedly – while leaving the Steering and Technical Committee in a lull or limbo over its more serious but incomplete business.
“Surely these items entail amendments to the Constitution too, and which in real terms must go along with the amendment to Article 1(2) in order to give the whole exercise to review our rights under the MA63 a more meaningful purpose,” he added.
Idris argued that the amendment proposal is not only unprofessional but “also dubious in that it gives a false sense of security to the people of Sarawak and Sabah.”
