KOTA KINABALU – The amendment made to the federal constitution reducing the status of Sabah and Sarawak to mere states in 1976 should have been null and void, said an activist and a historian.
Such is the case for any future amendments intended to be made to the constitution with regard to the position of Sabah and Sarawak.
According to Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) activist Zainnal Ajamain and historian Bilcher Bala, the fact that Malaysian MPs proceeded with the 1976 amendment, and are now fighting to restore the rights of both states, shows their ignorance on the matter.
“They (MPs) had blindly agreed or were mere puppets when they deceived Malaysians after amending the constitution blindly.
“The 1976 amendment of Article 1(2) of the federal constitution should not have happened, or should by right be null and void.
“Any effort to amend it now to restore the original status of Sabah and Sarawak is an utter waste of time.
“The MPs would have known this if they knew Article 161E of the federal constitution and understood the meaning of the provision,” they told The Vibes.
Article 161E touches on the safeguards of the constitutional position of the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
It reads: “As from the passing of the Malaysia Act, no amendment to the constitution made in connection with the admission to the Federation of the state of Sabah or Sarawak shall be exempted from clause (3) of Article 159 by clause 4 (bb) of that article nor shall any modification made as to the application of the constitution to the state of Sabah or Sarawak be so accepted unless the modification is such as to equate or assimilate the position of that state under the constitution to the position of the states of Malaya.”
“This means whatever that is in the Malaysia Act or Annex A cannot be amended due to its ‘no amendment clause’,” said Zainnal.
“So, who gave the MPs the right to amend it in 1976? And what is Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin trying to do now?
“The constitutional amendment in 1976 should not have happened.
“They wanted to turn Malaysia into a unitary nation,” he said.
The recent declaration by Muhyiddin that Sabah and Sarawak are regions, or “wilayah”, has caused a media frenzy.
Both Zainnal and Bilcher said the declaration was merely the prime minister’s executive order and therefore had no legal effect.
According to Article 161E, Zainnal said, Parliament cannot amend the Malaysia Act or Annex A.
“Thus, reducing the status of Sabah and Sarawak should not have happened if the MPs were aware of the constitution,” he said.
He blamed the attorney-general, who is supposed to be well-versed in the constitution, for failing to advise the prime minister on the matter.
“Mistakes have been made and Muhyiddin should know that he cannot do it by executive order.
“The purpose of him calling the two Borneo states territories was clearly for political reasons,” he said.
Zainnal said lawmakers were ignorant then, and so are the MPs now as they have simply accepted what Muhyiddin had said.
“This is a big slap to the face to Sabahans, especially to Sabah Star leader Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan and PBS leader Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, who are fighting and championing for MA63,” he said.
Bilcher meanwhile said despite the fact that no amendment should be made to the constitution, this has not been the case.
“The Malaysia Act was amended in 1963, and also the repeal of Singapore in 1965.
“The issue should not only focus on the 1976 amendment, but also on other cases where the act was being amended,” said Bilcher.
Although the power to amend the federal constitution lies in Parliament’s two-thirds vote, the “no amendment” clause does exist, but has not been practised since 1963, when Malaysia was formed.
“My question is, why did the MPs support the amendments? The question should be answered by the leaders today.
“People like former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, Jeffrey, Ongkili and others must answer.
“Or are they so blind that they failed to see the ‘no amendment clause’ in the federal constitution that they so vehemently wanted to amend?” Bilcher asked.
Bilcher said Malaysia’s founding fathers, like the late Tun Fuad Stephens, Tun Mustapha Datu Harun, Tun Datuk Temenggong Jugah and Tunku Abdul Rahman, were far better leaders than the current batch.
“These were genuinely smart leaders compared to the ridiculous thinking leaders of today,” he said.
Bilcher said today’s lawmakers were the ones who amended the constitution, but are now blaming each other in order to achieve political milestones over the matter. – The Vibes, April 13, 2021
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