‘Ganging-up’ of GPS, Umno, PAS to defeat Bill a letdown for Sarawakians — DAP Sarawak deputy chief
BINTULU: DAP Sarawak deputy chairman Chiew Chiu Sing expressed his disappointment that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) MPs had ‘ganged up’ with lawmakers from Umno and PAS to keep Sarawak as one of the 13 states in Malaysia.
The Tanjong Batu assemblyman said the failure to pass the Bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution in Parliament on April 9 was a missed opportunity to regain equal footing in the federation, following the 1976 constitutional amendment which had reduced Sabah’s and Sarawak’s status to that of ‘state’.
“I am very disappointed that GPS ganged up with Umno and PAS to abstain from voting and thus defeat the Bill.
“The people of Sarawak have been denied the restoration of equal status as enshrined in the agreement to form Malaysia in 1963,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
The abstention of 59 lawmakers saw the Bill fail to garner the required two-thirds support, or 148 votes, from the total 221 MPs.
“The amendment Bill was very simple; it proposed to change the wording of the Constitution back to the original during the formation of Malaysia.
“What is so disagreeable with that? It is good for the people, unless GPS MPs have other personal agenda.” Chiew said Sarawakians had been waiting for the restoration of Sarawak’s equal status ever since 1976 when the Barisan Nasional ( BN) government agreed to downgrade Sarawak into a state.
“We have (since) become one of the poorest states in Malaysia.
“This is why during the 2014 DAP Convention in Bintulu, the Bintulu Declaration themed ‘ Towards Equal Partners’ stated for the first time and formally by any party, the call for equal partnership between Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
“Since then, the (then) BN government had not stopped a day in trying to wrest that call from us while sweet-talking the people of Sarawak. Now we know it is just hot air because when the opportunity came (to restore equal status), they abstained (from voting) and gave up the chance for us to be one of three partners in Malaysia,” Chiew said.