Amendment Bill too hasty on first reading – LDP

KOTA KINABALU: The amendment bill to the Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government is too hasty on the first reading, said the vice president of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Yew Chau Khiong.

Expressing disappointment and protest, Yew, who is also the Chief of LDP Social Issues Action Bureau, has scrutinized the proposed amendments by the de facto law minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong, which were hollow and meaningless.

“The proposed amendment does not, in any way, alter the functions of the Federal and State Governments under the concept of federalism. And the Bill will involve the government in extra financial expenditure the amount of which cannot at present be ascertained. Such amendment is obviously perfunctory, just to transfer Sabah and Sarawak into another subsection (B) of the original Article 1 (2) Provisions of the Federal Constitution,” he pointed out in a statement yesterday.

He said the constitutional amendment, which was made from the beginning to the end, there is no mention in any way that the formation of The Federation of Malaysia in 1963, was jointly formed by the Malayan Federation, Sabah, Sarawak and also Singapore with the equal status. Such constitutional amendments will only lead to the people of Sabah and Sarawak to question more the true sincerity of the PH government.

“The proposed amendments do not even mention the statutory equal status of Sabah and Sarawak, let alone the number of parliament seats to be added on after the withdrawal of Singapore in 1965, the autonomy of education and public health, and the sharing of oil and gas royalty. With such insincere amendment bill is certainly not in line with the long-cherished expectations of the people of Sabah and Sarawak, and the people have all the reasons to believe that PH government is not willing to implement the autonomy provided to Sabah and Sarawak in MA63. Much of what has been promised in the 14th General Election (GE14) was just an empty talk,” he said.

Yew added the people have to understand the substance is far more important than all forms and promises, and the true problem is implementation, which is entirely determined by the political will of the Federal Government and its governance.