WHEN SABAHANS BACKSTAB SABAHANS & SARAWAKIANS BACKSTAB SARAWAKIANS: ‘i FEEL VERY SAD BECAUSE THIS WAS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN OUR STATUS BACK TO US’ – GOVT MPs DENOUNCE BN, GPS FOR POLITICAL JEALOUSY AT THE EXPENSE OF THEIR OWN STATES

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 Mac -- Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Liew Vui Keong ditemui media ketika menghadiri Persidangan Dewan Rakyat di Bangunan Parlimen, hari ini. --fotoBERNAMA (2019) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

KUALA LUMPUR: Government lawmakers expressed disappointment over the failure of obtaining two-thirds majority to pass the Constitution (Amendment) 2019 Bill last night.

A successful amendment would have seen the restoration of Sabah and Sarawak’s status in pursuant to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk V.K Liew said the decision by 59 members of Parliament to abstain from voting was unfair to the people.

“They now belong to a group which has caused the failure of this bill and their name will be etched in history which will be their undoing.

“I feel very sad because this was a golden opportunity to return our status back to us and they still choose to abstain from voting,” he said.

Although dissatisfied with the results, Liew, a Batu Sapi member of Parliament said this would not be the end of the fight to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s status.

“I won’t give up on the fight and this will continue until the amendments are made. I hope the people saw what the opposition had caused today,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sabah Chief Minister and Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said that they have done their best to represent the voice of Sabahans.

“This is the first time since independence that we have heard the bill which is is promoting the pursuant of the Malaysian Agreement 1963.

“Unfortunately our efforts today has gone wasted because of certain voices despite many approaches have been taken,” he said.

The Dewan Rakyat last night failed to meet the necessary two thirds or 148 votes required to restore Sabah and Sarawak to their original status in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Block voting at the end of a day long debate on the second reading of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 saw only 138 law makers supporting the move.

Sabah Chief Minister and Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said that they have done their best to represent the voice of Sabahans. BERNAMA photo

There were no lawmakers opposing the bill, while another 59 law makers in the lower house of Parliament abstained from voting.

There were a total of 197 out of the 221 Dewan Rakyat members who were present for the vote.

There was also one vacant seat, following the death of Sandakan federal lawmaker Stephen Fong.

The bill sought to amend Article 2(1) of the Federal Constitution.

A total of 46 federal law makers took part in the debate involving the amendment, earlier in the day. – NST

No dignity in abstaining, MPs told on amendment bill

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah leaders from the ruling coalition have criticised the 59 MPs who chose to abstain from voting on the Federal Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, which sought to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners.

Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking said these MPs did not even have the dignity to reject or support the bill, which was defeated in the Dewan Rakyat last night.

“Their choice to abstain is evidence that they have no political stand or dignity towards their voters,” he told FMT.

“It was a historical moment where Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad read out the rationale behind amending the constitution which would have reinstated us to the pre-1976 amendment.”

A total of 138 MPs voted for the amendment while 59 abstained. There are 221 MPs in the lower house. Two-thirds, or 148 votes, were needed to pass the constitutional amendment.

Leiking, who is international trade and industry minister, said those who abstained had “betrayed” the efforts to reinstate the positions of Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya as intended in 1963.

“In Parliament, you have to make a decision,” the Penampang MP added.

Sabah DAP secretary Chan Foong Hin said it was a “sad day”.

“The reason they didn’t vote is very selfish,” the Kota Kinabalu MP told FMT. “They didn’t reject, but they did not support (the bill), either.

“What kind of message do they want to pass to the public?”

But Karanaan assemblyman Masidi Manjun, who recently joined PPBM, said the result came as no surprise.

“Judging from the comments of MPs, especially from Sabah and Sarawak, as well as legal opinions in newspapers and online news after the bill was tabled in Parliament, the defeat was not entirely unexpected,” he said. – FREE MALAYSIA TODAY

NST / FREE MALAYSIA TODAY