Amending Article 1(2) of Constitution vital for Sabah – Shafie

KOTA BELUD: The amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution scheduled to be tabled at the next Parliament session is vital for Sabah’s struggle to restore its rights and the rights of the people as stated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the amendment involved the restoration of the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to the peninsula with equal rights in the Federation of Malaysia.

“The Sabah government will ensure that the rights stated in the MA63 will be restored. For Sabah, the MA63 needs a change and should be standardised with the state’s development need,” he said at the Chief Minister’s meetand-greet programme with the Tempasuk community here on Saturday.

Also present were his deputy Datuk Jaujan Sambakong and Tempasuk assemblyman Datuk Musbah Jamli.

Shafie said the Sabah government led by Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) was aware of the people’s demands for changes and development, especially those in the rural areas.

As such, he said the state government had decided, among others, to stop timber export in a bid to empower the local timber industry and create more jobs for the locals.

Efforts to lure foreign investment had also been intensified, with the latest involving cooperation with Petronas to lure Chinese investors to invest in the oil and gas industry in Sabah involving an investment of RM1 billion, he said.

He said the state government would also bring in 10 investors to set up furniture factories in Sandakan.