Govt to table bill to restore status for Sabah, S'wak

 

A bill to restore Sabah and Sarawak to equal status position with Peninsular Malaysia is expected to be tabled in the forthcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting, which will commence on Monday, Oct 25.

This was agreed by the Special Council of the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MKMA63) in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday, according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Maximus Ongkili.

The government will seek amendments to Article 1 (2) and Article 160 (2) of the Federal Constitution, Ongkili said in a statement yesterday.

"The amendment will redefine the meaning of the federation," he said.

Ongkili (above) said the proposed amendment would be different from what was tabled by Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.

The major difference in the current amendments would be the redefining of the federation in Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution, he said.

"This amendment is expected to specify the status of all states in Malaysia in line with the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, Malaysia Agreement in 1963 (MA63) and the status after Singapore left in 1965."

"In the meantime, the special council will continue to discuss outstanding matters and ensure the rights of the people of Sabah and Sarawak are restored," Ongkili said.

The special committee, he added, has also agreed on the rights of both state governments to issue licences for deep-sea fishing.

Earlier this month, de facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the government was expected to table the bill to amend the Federal Constitution on Sabah and Sarawak's status on Oct 26.

The MA63 is an agreement between the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore.

In 2019, the Pakatan Harapan administration tabled a bill to amend Federal Constitution by reinstating Article 1(2) to its 1965 version, which reads: "The states of the federation shall be – (a) Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Trengganu; and (b) Sabah and Sarawak."

The current version of Article 1(2), legislated in 1976, reads: "The states of the federation shall be Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu."

This bill, which requires two-thirds support of the House to be passed, was defeated because only 138 MPs voted in favour while 59 abstained. - Mkini