KUCHING: Many matters relating to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) need to be addressed one by one and cannot be supported blindly as it can cause the rights as “equal partner” to be eroded, said Batang Lupar MP Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim.
She said that the failure to get the two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat on the Amendment Bill 2019 should be a lesson to the federal government under the administration of Pakatan Harapan.
“This shows that Sarawakians want this matter to be done thoroughly and holistically.
“Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) MPs are of the opinion that this matter should be thoroughly discussed and not just proclaim Sabah and Sarawak as ‘equal partners’ in Malaysia.
“We (GPS) have also proposed that this Bill to be further discussed at the Special Select Committee level but it was ignored by the federal government. Instead, we are accused of betraying the state’s interests which is clearly not true.
“We do not want our rights as Sarawakians to be played out in the future should we agree with the Amendment Bill which does not clearly state the interests of Sarawak,” said Rohani in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the Batang Lupar MP, the words “pursuant to MA63” should be stated clearly in the Amendment Bill as a guarantee that Sarawak would not lose its rights.
She further stressed that the people of Sarawak needed to know that the Bill presented by the federal government is similar to that of “a beautiful book with no content”.
On Wednesday, the GPS MPs did not vote either to reject or support the Amendment Bill, but instead chose to abstain following the federal government’s refusal to agree on the proposal for MA63 to be included in the amendment.
