KUCHING: There should be no problems in having the new amendment to Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution (FC) passed in the coming Parliamentary session next year if the propositions by the Sarawak state government are included.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) information chief Datuk Idris Buang said this in response to Minister’s in the Prime Minister’s Department and de facto Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong’s posting on his Facebook page which said, “Good news… Article 1 (2) of the FC where Sabah and Sarawak are equal partners with Malaya will be tabled again in Parliament which is expected to held on March 9 next year.”
“It is good to see if the proposed amendment would include the propositions by the state government as contained in a motion passed by the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) this year,” he said.
Idris said among the proposition was to describe Sarawak and Sabah in Article 1(2) of the Constitution, as, inter alia, “States in the Federation in Pursuant To Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63)”.
“Secondly, the said motion also expouses the desire to have Section 160 amended in particular on the definition of ‘the Federation’ to mean, inter alia, ‘the Federation established pursuant to MA63,’ with saving intact for relevant provisions needed that relate to other states that made up the federation immediately prior to MA63,” he said.
Idris said if all these elements were met, there would be no further disagreement to the new amendment.
Earlier this year, the passing of the Federal Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 did not get the majority votes and 19 MPs from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) abstained from voting for it because the amendment did not insert the six words ‘in pursuant to the MA63” in the proposed Bill to amend Article 1 (2) of FC to restore Sabah and Sarwak’s status as equal partners to Malaya.
