THE proposed amendment to Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which seeks to define and clarify the words “resident in the state” is to further strengthen the autonomy of Sarawak. It will only allow Sarawak citizens to be members of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN)
Datuk Dr Juanda Jaya (PBB-Jemoreng) said the amendment was important to avoid repeating the incident of an Sarawakian elected representative who had dual citizenship.
“We want those involved in determining the direction of the Sarawak to only be Sarawakians who are loyal to the state and not those from outside who do not understand Sarawak.
“Just like what had happened before in this august House. There is someone who holds the Australian citizenship. If he had already pledged loyalty to another country, how can we be sure of his loyalty to the state and the country to safeguard the harmony of our state?” he said this when debating on the amendment bill.
The amendment bill was tabled by Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah. However, the bill has been deferred to another date due to certain anomalies.
On the proposal to amend the bill to lower the age qualification of persons elected as members of the DUN from 21 to 18 year old under Article 16 of the State Constitution, Juanda said it was timely to have the age change.
“When a person reaches the age of 18, he/she is allowed to get married, work and earn money, but why , at this age, can’t he/she be a candidate or vote for a qualified candidate?
“Therefore, the lowering of the requirement will allow youth to be involved in elections to determine the direction of the state,” he said.
