Cabinet pressured to restore original wordings — Anak Negeri

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri has described the decision of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Cabinet to restore the original wordings of the Article 1 (2) Amendment Bill for the second reading in Parliament to follow that of 1963 version as a victory of the unified opposition voices and the strong support of the people of Sabah and Sarawak.

Its president, Datuk Henrynus Amin, was of the opinion that opposition pressure from Sabah and Sarawak no doubt may have changed the mind of federal leaders and this was a good start in the right direction.

He also opined that framers of the wordings of the Amendment to Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution had initially omitted specific references to (a) “States of Malaya, ... “and (b) Borneon States of Sabah and Sarawak for reasons only known to them.

Fortunately opposition leaders from Sabah and Sarawak as well as many individuals caught the sneaky attempt to ignore their Malaysia Borneon identity during the first reading in Parliament and they rightfully spoke out forcefully to oppose the much watered down draft amendment, he said.

“But credit is due to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk VK Liew for his quick action to consult and obtain the necessary Cabinet consent to correct or restore the 1963 original version of the amendment,” said Henrynus.

Anak Negeri, he added, also thanked the Prime Minister for his discretion and quick response in consenting to the new draft amendment to follow the pre-1976 version.

On hindsight, Liew could have done a much better work and avoid the unnecessary hassle if only he had released the draft proposal earlier to Sabah and Sarawak Members of Parliament, he opined.

“We hope VK Liew will remain a relevant Federal Minister to continue listening to grassroots opinion, to act prudently and fulfill his fiduciary duty to the people of Sabah he represents.

“However, we caution that the eupohoria over the constitutional amendment on Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution is still premature and only the beginning of a potentially protracted fight to restore the relevant state rights and especially the constitutional status of the two Borneon States and States of Malaya as equal partners,” he said.

For now, with the constitutional amendment to be passed by Parliament, Sabah and Sarawak are only getting the “skin of the banana, not the flesh”, he claimed.

According to Henrynus, the real substance of constitutional equal partnership is on the changes to other relevant laws to reflect the the position of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.

For instance, Henrynus pointed out the existing parliamentary representation for Sabah and Sarawak should be changed to reflect the recommendations of the IGC Report 1962 and Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“After Singapore left the Federation in 1965, the parliamentary representation for Sabah and Sarawak did not change to reflect the new circumstances. Sabah and Sarawak eventually lost out to the States of Malaya and relegated to a mere 25 per cent of the entire 222 parliamentary seats allocation.

“The MA63 called for the number of parliamentary seats for the two Borneon states to be at least no less than one-third of the total parliamentary seats. If we read correctly, it was agreed by the framers of the IGC Report and MA63 that consideration for parliamentary seat allocation for Sabah and Sarawak shall be based not only on the size of population but also on the size of land and its economic potential,” he said.

According to Henrynus, the restoration of Sabah and Sarawak status as equal partners in the Malaysian Federation must include the increase of the number of parliament seats to be given to Sabah and Sarawak.

“The 57 parliamentaty seats including the Federal Territory of Labuan merely constitute 25.6 per cent of the total 222 Malaysian parliamentary seats. To achieve one third of the total parliamentary seats, Sabah and Sarawak should hold 74 seats or 33.3 per cent of the total 222 parliamentary seats.

“However, due to the separation of Singapore in 1965, Sabah and Sarawak should now increase to at least six more to 80 seats to reflect their territorial size and economic potentials.

“Anak Negeri therefore urges Liew as the de facto Law Minister to look into this aspect of the law that may need to be changed or amended too,” he said.