PUTRAJAYA: It looks like the proposed amendment Bill to Article 2(1) of the Federal Constitution may be put on the back burner for now.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said it was not going to be tabled anytime soon because those who opposed the Bill had criticised the government for tabling it in haste, which he strongly denies.
“GPS 19 (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) questioned why it was done in a hurry, which it wasn’t.
“Were we to follow them at their pace, (we) don’t have to hurry for the tabling of this Bill, if that is the case.
“But we are not like them. We just want to restore the position of Sabah and Sarawak. If that had happened on April 9, we would have better things to talk about. It is unfortunate,” he told reporters today.
The amendment of Article 2(1) of the Federal Constitution was reported to be just the beginning of the move to restore Sabah’s and Sarawak’s rights.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamd said this would be followed by a host of other amendments involving laws which affect the two Borneo states.
During the 14th General Election last year, one of the main promises in the PH manifesto was the restoration of the original status of Sabah and Sarawak.
Dr Mahathir said the proposed amendment involving Article 2(1) would see the two states revert to their original status when the Federation of Malaysia was formed, with necessary modifications.
This amendment is being undertaken to fulfil the demands of the Sabah and Sarawak state governments, in that the position of Sabah and Sarawak under Article 2(1) will be reverted to the position it was at the time when Malaysia was formed and in line with the spirit and intent of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He said the proposed amendment was an appropriate undertaking by the government, as it seeks to realise the demands of Sabah and Sarawak, which had been submitted and discussed by a Special Cabinet Committee reviewing the implementation of MA63.
The amendments are in line with the speech he made at the Malaysia Day celebrations on Sept 16, last year.
The proposed amendments seek to list Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, and Terengganu as states of Malaya. Sabah and Sarawak will be referred to as the Borneo State. All will form the States of the Federation of Malaysia.
Liew said GPS 19 gave lame excuses in not voting for the Bill just because they wanted the proposed amendment of Article 1(2) to include a six-word phrase “pursuant to the Malaysia Agreement 1963”, which reads: “(2) The States in the Federation shall be, pursuant to the Malaysia Agreement 1963”, be (a) Malaya (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Selangor and Terengganu); and (b) The Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak.
Asked if he would consider including the six-word phrase, Liew said the Attorney-General’s stand on the matter was that it was not doable and would be repetitive, stressing that it was also unnecessary to have it in Article 1(2) because it was already included in the explanatory statement in the said Bill.
The explanatory statement states: “This Bill seeks to amend the Federal Constitution. Clause 2 of this Bill seeks to substitute Clause 2 (2) of Article 1 of the Federal Constitution to specify all the constituent States of the Federation by restoring, which modifications, the position of Clause (2) of article 1 of the Federal Constitution during the formation of Malaysia in 1963. This amendment is made in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement concluded in 1963. It satisfies the aspiration and hope of the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak, and all people of Sabah and Sarawak.”
“The explanatory note itself has made it very clear, which is also legally binding. Even our forefathers did not include the six words, neither in the MA63 nor the 1976 Agreement,” said Liew.
On the four Pakatan Harapan (PH) members of parliament who did not attend the voting session of the said Bill, he said the matter was raised in the Cabinet meeting.
“I will leave it to the respective party chief whips on how to handle the absent MPs. For argument’s sake, lets say the Bill was not passed because of four votes short. Who would be held responsible?”
The four absent PH MPs were Dr Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam), Noor Amin Ahmad (Kangar), Datuk Seri Seri Shamsul Iskandar @ Yusrie Mohd Akin (Hang Tuah Jaya), and Muslimin Yahaya (Sungai Besar).
Liew said 138 MPs voted for the Bill, none voted against, 59 abstained and eight did not participate.
“Those who did not participate were those who did not indicate that they will support; not support; abstain or take part in the voting session,” he said.
The eight MPs were Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (Sembrong), Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Gua Musang), Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican (Kepala Batas), Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Pasir Salak), Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (Putrajaya), Datuk Seri Hasan Arifin (Rompin), Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah (Jasin) and Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Padang Besar).