Wee questions federal govt’s rush in tabling Constitution Bill
KUCHING: There was no need for the federal government to rush into tabling the Constitution Bill (Amendment 2019) as it was ‘an incomplete Bill’.
In asserting this yesterday, Federation of Kuching, Samarahan and Serian Divisions Chinese Associations president Dato Richard Wee said Sarawakians would not mind waiting for another couple of months for a more comprehensive amendment Bill.
“Since we have waited for so many years, what is another few months,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Wee pointed out: “The body of the Bill is more important than the form.”
He said any amendment to the Constitution of any country “is a matter than needs to be handled with great care and utmost seriousness”.
This is because, he said, it will affect the future generations of its people and the direction of the nation.
He suggested that “the entire exercise needs to be examined thoroughly and carried out in a comprehensive and holistic manner so that we do not have to keep coming back to the Parliament for any future related amendments”.
He said it would be more prudent to have the Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63) Steering Committee to conduct a more detailed finding and have a consensus reached by all stakeholders before tabling a Bill in Parliament.
The Steering Committee, he noted, comprised Technical Sub Committee and Legal Sub Committee.
“The manner it (the amendment Bill) was done gave the impression that the government had not thought it through and lacked sincerity in approaching this matter.
“I am sure the people of Sarawak and Sabah welcome the efforts of the government in addressing this issue, but it has to be done in a comprehensive manner,” he stressed.
While the federal government’s intention is welcomed, Wee said the detail would be more crucial and important as the saying goes: “The devil is in the detail.”
According to him, equal partnership means that all parties have similar status, equitable interest and similar voting rights for all important matters.
He said there are matters that can be agreed upon by equitable partners or that they engage negotiations to seek consensus among themselves, be they administrative or operational matters.
“But the key point is that all (matters) must be agreed upon by equal partners. One should never attempt to encroach into each other’s rights and territories once agreement has been reached.
“Respect and recognition of each other’s status and rights are important in order to have a lasting relationship,” he added.
Wee further pointed out that “everyone is a part of the sum put together in a union”.
To him, every citizen is a small part of the bigger entity and everyone shares the wealth and debts together.
“However, the issues arise when the people feel that they are not sharing the wealth but being compelled to share the burden of the debts incurred.
“Inequality of the distribution of resources and unfair treatment will always be the cause of discontentment as happened in so many countries,” said Wee.