DAP Sabah dares Pandikar to debate in Parliament
SANDAKAN: DAP Sabah chairman Stephen Wong has proposed a special sitting in Parliament to debate Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the status of Sabah and Sarawak in the federation to show that Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin is sincere.
Wong, who is also member of Parliament for Sandakan, said Parliament is the best place to debate on this issue.
“As MA63 is a legally binding document and is enshrined in the federal constitution of Malaysia, Parliament, as the highest legislative body, should be given the opportunity to discuss and debate on the status of Sabah and Sarawak within the federation.
“It should have been done a long time ago. We, at Pakatan Harapan, have been calling for the debate to uplift Sabah and Sarawak’s rights and status in Parliament many times, but it was the speaker himself who turned down and rejected our resolutions in attempts to discuss the matter,” he said.
“I tabled a private bill in Parliament twice last year to review the federal constitution regarding the status of Sabah and Sarawak. It was rejected by the very speaker who claimed himself as a Sabahan. It’s shameful,” Wong stressed.
Wong opined that this matter should be treated seriously and the government must have taken a position over the status of Sabah and Sarawak in the federation.
“I call upon all BN component parties in Sabah as well as Sabah BN MPs to make their stand clearly on Pandikar’s remark, and both ruling and opposition parties should have debated on this subject in Parliament, not outside.”
Wong also challenged the BN MPs from Sabah to openly rubbish Pandikar’s statement and to hold a special sitting in Parliament to discuss this matter.
He said Pandikar’s comment was irrelevant.
“He is not representing the federation. It should be debated in Parliament to get the official stance from the federal government as well as the ruling coalition,” he added.
Pandikar made a controversial remark last week by saying that Sabah and Sarawak were among the 13 states in Malaysia and not equal partners in the federation.