Tiang accepts on Dr Sim’s behalf Soon Koh’s challenge to debate on recently passed constitutional amendment Bill

KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Youth secretary Michael Tiang has accepted Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh’s challenge for a debate on the constitutional amendment Bill passed in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) last Thursday.

Tiang said he accepted on behalf of SUPP president Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian to debate over the eligibility of Malaysians not born in Sarawak in becoming DUN members.

“On behalf of my party president Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, I wish to accept Wong Soon Koh’s challenge to have a public debate on the latest constitutional amendment on a person’s eligibility to become a DUN member in Sarawak,” he said in a press statement yesterday.

He added that he was “more than happy” to grab this opportunity to debate with Wong, a senior state assemblyman for Bawang Assan since 1991, as Wong reckoned that such a public debate was necessary to allow the public to see whether the new amendment had become a risk of erosion of the basic rights of Sarawakians.

“While mocking Dr Sim for failing to understand the English words used in the Bill, Soon Koh and his DAP colleagues are in fact making a blunder by using basic English to interpret the constitutional amendment to Article 16 of the State Constitution, and such erroneous interpretation is an irresponsible and misleading act altogether,” Tiang pointed out.

Tiang, who is a political secretary to the Chief Minister, said the state’s new constitutional amendment was in fact drafted according to the principle of Jus Sanguinis (Right of blood), an international legal principle of nationality law.

As one might guess, he said, this is the right of citizenship to a country or a territory your parents or one of your parent is a citizen of.

“Regardless of where you were born, you have the right to such citizenship in your parent’s’ country or territory. Therefore our constitutional amendment correctly requires any eligible person to become a member of our DUN, he must have a Sarawakian parentage.”

“In other words, he must have at least either one of his parents who is a born Sarawakian and he himself is residing in Sarawak, even though he might not be born in Sarawak.”

It is a clear intention of the amendment that a non-Sarawakian is never a Sarawakian even if he was born in Sarawak, Tiang stressed.

However, for a Sarawakian not born in Sarawak, his parent’s Sarawakian status would allow him to be eligible to contest in a Sarawak state election and to become a member in the august House, he added.

Therefore the illustration of Leila and Putri used by Wong was also conflicting with his own view that any Malaysian not born in Sarawak can be a candidate in Sarawak state election, Tiang explained.

“According to his illustration, Leila is a daughter to both West Malaysian parents. Even though Leila was born in Sarawak, due to her West Malaysian parentage, she is a non-Sarawakian. After that she married a West Malaysian husband and gave birth to a daughter Putri in West Malaysia. Although Putri is now working in Sarawak as a policewoman with permanent resident status in Sarawak, Putri is still not eligible to run as a candidate in a Sarawak state election as neither of her parents is a Sarawakian.”

In fact, the illustration given by Wong can only further elaborate the purpose of the new amendment that is to prevent non-Sarawakians from becoming members in the DUN and hence further protect Sarawakians of our basic rights in the DUN, Tiang argued.

“The objective of this constitutional amendment is also very much in line with GPS’ political agenda, that is to always safeguard Sarawak rights and privileges by putting ‘Sarawak First’ in its governance of the State.”

On Sunday, Wong in a press conference here challenged Dr Sim to the debate on the impact of the constitutional amendment Bill passed in the august House last Thursday.

Wong, described last Thursday as “a black day” for Sarawak, contrary to what Dr Sim described as “a great day for Sarawak” after the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed.

Wong said PSB and the opposition bench objected to the second part of the Bill, which stated that Malaysians who were not born in Sarawak were eligible to become a member of the DUN of Sarawak and that, Dr Sim had failed to understand the meaning of the words in the Bill when the latter reiterated during earlier press conference that “you must be born in Sarawak” in order to stand as a candidate in Sarawak state election.

Wong argued the amendment Bill clearly stated that a candidate did not have to be born in Sarawak in order to stand in the state election of Sarawak.

“If Dr Sim does not believe what we said, we are willing to debate with him what is the true impact of the amendment that he so gleefully announced as ‘a great day for Sarawak’, which he, SUPP and GPS had brought about with this amendment,” said Wong who is also the current DUN opposition chief.

Wong claimed that the new amendment could lead to a potential change of political structure, for the DUN to be controlled by non-Sarawakians.

When contacted yesterday, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) Information chief Dato Idris Buang said Wong’s argument on the matter was false and misleading.

Idris, who is Muara Tuang assemblyman, said it was an “obvious and deliberate” attempt to give the wrong picture and interpretation of the whole purpose and meaning of the amendment and the Bill itself.

Idris said: “Ask them (PSB). Was the situation before the amendment free and open for any Malaysian citizen to contest in an election in Sarawak if (the person is) a resident albeit merely as a tenant somewhere in a particular constituency? Is there any difference after the amendment?”