Ting explains his absence when Article 1(2) amendment was debated in parliament
KUCHING: Former Bintulu Member of Parliament Ting Ling Kiew says he purposely did not attend the sitting when the Bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution to change the status of Sarawak and Sabah to become states of Malaysia was debated on July 12 and 13 in 1976.
He said he believed the Bill was unfair to Sarawak as this meant that upon becoming one of the 13 states in the country, Sarawak would have to share everything with 12 other states.
To avoid voting in favour of the Bill as he was compelled to do so beingamemberofBarisanNasional ( BN), he skipped the sitting when the Bill was debated.
Another BN MP who did not take part in the debate was former federal minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Leo Moggie Irok.
Ting said before making his decision, he consulted several leaders including former Sarawak United People’s Party president, the late Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui.
“I told him that I was not going to support the Bill because I felt that we should have been given more time to study it. I even asked if the Bill could be tabled after the next general election.
“However, he told me that I must support the Bill because we are in Barisan Nasional ( BN). If I don’t support it, then BN will take action against me,” he said during a press conference chaired by Pakatan Harapan ( PH) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen at DAP Sarawak headquarters here yesterday.
He recalled asking if his objection to the Bill would force his party Sarawak National Party (SNAP) to expel him.
Ting added that he also sought the opinion of former opposition leader, the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon who told him that BN may take action against him if he did not support the Bill.
“He told me that if I were in the Dewan, I must support the Bill and if I did not support it, I should not be in the Dewan.”
Ting then called up his party president at the time, the late Datuk Amar Dunstan Endawie, to ask if SNAP would expel him if he decided not to support the Bill.
“He told me that on his part, he would not take action but if
I told him that I was not going to support the Bill because I felt that we should have been given more time to study it. I even asked if the Bill could be tabled after the next general election. Ting Ling Kiew, former Bintulu MP
the pressure came from BN, the party might have no choice but to expel me.
“After thinking over, he told me that I had better go and play mahjong and so that night, I flew over to Singapore and stayed two nights there,” he said.
Ting, who served as Bintulu MP from 1974 to 1990, said what made him oppose the Bill was the fact that Sarawak would have to share a slice of the pie with 12 others states.
“Malaysia is a ‘ big cake’ and Sarawak shared one-third of it. Once the Bill is passed, this means that our share from one-third will become a share among the 12 other states,” he said.
The PH government is seeking to amend Article 1( 2) of the Federal Constitution to restore Sarawak’s status as one of the three territories in Malaysia.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong is expected to table the Bill which is also scheduled to be debated on April 8 and/or 9, and requires a two-thirds majority or 148 votes out of the 222 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat ( Lower House) to pass.