KUALA LUMPUR – The proposed amendments to the federal constitution that will see Sabah and Sarawak given greater recognition should be done in the interest of the rakyat and not elitist politicians, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Port Dickson-PH).
The opposition leader said this should be given priority should the amendments be passed, beyond just words on paper that could potentially grant additional powers to state leaders to abuse.
“The provisions we have agreed upon are to uphold the democracy and justice in this country, not merely to guarantee power for the states (of Sabah and Sarawak),” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
“There must be a guarantee that the goal is to protect the interests of the rakyat, which is different to protecting the interests of state leaders and elitist politicians. That is why we want to ensure this (amendment) is implemented in its entirety.
“This is not a power transition for political leaders, but for the rakyat. There is a difference.”
Anwar said this when debating the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021 tabled for the second reading in the lower House today.
The bill, among others, seeks to amend Article 1 of the federal constitution to separate Sabah and Sarawak from the other states of the federation under a new sub-clause of “Borneo states”.
The amendment will also see the inclusion of the definition of “Malaysia Day” in the constitution, which carries the meaning of September 16, 1963, and to substitute the meaning of “the Federation” to better explain the formation of Malaysia.
Additionally, the bill seeks to amend the constitution to provide that a citizen born in Sarawak and who belongs to one of the races specified in by the state law are to be considered a Sarawak indigenous citizen.
In supporting his argument about politicians possibly the ones benefitting from the amendments as opposed to the rakyat, Anwar cited the issue of dilapidated schools in the two Borneo states.
He noted that at present, 85.6% of schools in very poor condition in the country are located in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Can’t we ensure this issue is addressed in the spirit of this amendment? Instead of awarding companies or elitists with lands and logging projects, we should guarantee the basic rights of the people, like water, electricity and schools.
“That is why when we (Pakatan Harapan) included a condition for this amendment to be tabled in Parliament. It is not just on the technicalities of the law, but in the spirit of the constitution and our independence,” he said. – The Vibes, December 14, 2021
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