‘Referendum Act can safeguard rights of Sarawak, Sabah’

KUCHING: The Parliament of Malaysia can table a Referendum Bill and pass it as Referendum Act under Article 161E of the Federal Constitution to safeguard the State List and special rights of both Sabah and Sarawak.

This was pointed out by Sarawak Cultural Research Society chairman Datuk David Teng, who believed that Sarawakians will have a say over their rights through the exercise of referendum.

Article 161E of the Federal Constitution, which reads ‘Safeguards for constitutional position of States of Sabah and Sarawak’, carries a few sub sections.

He said this during a forum titled ‘Getting to the bottom of the so-called Sarawak’s autonomy’ organised by the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Batu Lintang branch at its office here Friday night.

Teng, who is former Repok assemblyman and former assistant minister, opined that the Referendum Bill should be moved by an MP from either Sabah or Sarawak.

He said a two-thirds majority in Parliament is a must for the passing of the Referendum Bill.

At present, Sarawak has 31 parliamentary seats while Sabah holds 25 seats.

He pointed out that the total of 56 parliamentary seats is far from sufficient for Sarawak and Sabah to secure the mandatory two-thirds majority.

To turn the Bill into an Act, there must be at least 148 votes in favour of the Bill. Presently, there are 222 parliamentary constituencies in Malaysia.

As such, Teng said Sarawak and Sabah still need the support of many MPs from Peninsular Malaysia in order to see the Referendum Act take effect.

Following the change of federal government after the May 9 general election, he said Sarawakians are waiting for their leaders from both ruling and opposition coalitions to prove that they can return the rights of Sarawak to the state.

He believed that this will be the yardstick of how Sarawakians are going to cast their votes in the next Sarawak state election, which is expected to be called in 2021.

Politicians from both ruling and opposition coalitions will likely touch on autonomy issues to garner support from Sarawakians, added Teng.