Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): Opposition MPs have urged the government to postpone the amendment of the Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution to differentiate Sabah and Sarawak from the other states.

This is because the current bill as "window dressing" does not fulfil the aspiration of the two states, said Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chief whip Datuk Seri Fadhilah Yusof at a press conference outside the Dewan Rakyat today.

"GPS feels the proposed amendment is just cosmetic or window dressing in nature, and does not at all fulfil the aspiration and the wants of the Sarawak people.

"This is because the core issues with regard to special privileges demanded by Sarawak and deterioration of rights were not included in the proposed amendment," said Fadhilah.

To recap, Sabah and Sarawak are seeking more autonomy from the federal government, and are seeking to establish each state as a partner that is equal to West Malaysia as a whole, as purportedly premised during Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63).

The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 is to amend Clause 2 of Article 1 in the Federal Constitution, which currently groups all Federation states into one, to put Sabah and Sarawak in another grouping — although still described as 'the States of the Federation'.

In disagreement, the opposition, including Barisan Nasional and PAS, have instead requested for the federal government to at least wait until the conclusion of the MA63 steering committee report.

Sarawak's demands include for the distribution of the members of parliament, senators, and Cabinet ministers to be reevaluated to reflect equal share between West Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

GPS also proposed forming a separate special select committee comprising MPs from Sabah, Sarawak and West Malaysia to address the matter.

"Sarawak stands by its view that any amendment needs to be brought to the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly before it is brought to the Dewan Rakyat," Fadhilah added.

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