This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 5, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition members of parliament (MPs) have urged the government to postpone the amendment of Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution to change Sabah and Sarawak from states to territories.

Describing the current bill as “window dressing”, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chief whip Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said it does not fulfil the aspirations of the Sarawak people.

“The core issues with regard to special privileges demanded by Sarawak and deterioration of rights are not included in the proposed amendment,” said Fadillah outside Dewan Rakyat.

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 stated in the Malaysia 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”.

The opposition, including MPs from Barisan Nasional and PAS, have called on the federal government to at least wait until the conclusion of the MA63 steering committee report.

Sarawak’s demands include the re-evaluation of the distribution of the MPs, senators and cabinet ministers to reflect a three-way share among West Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

GPS also proposes 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 Dewan Rakyat,” Fadillah added.