KOTA KINABALU – Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan should walk the talk and bring a motion to call for a special assembly sitting ahead of the constitutional amendment to align provisions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Sabah DAP publicity secretary Phoong Jin Zhe said that while they welcome Jeffrey’s statement in calling for a special sitting to resolve words to be used in Article 1 (2) and Article 160 (2) of the Federal Constitution, they also opined that Jeffrey should bring an emergency motion to the state assembly to call for a special sitting.
“Sabah DAP is ready to support the special sitting motion proposed by Star. However, it is bizarre that Jeffrey, as a member of the executive branch and as Sabah deputy chief minister, would issue a media statement to call for the special state sitting instead of bringing a government motion directly to the state assembly,” Phoong said in a statement today.
He said according to the state assembly’s point of order, the government affairs and motion will always be discussed first in the state assembly.
The first reading of the bill to amend Article 1(2) and Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution to be in line with the provisions of the MA63 and to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s status as equal partners is expected to be tabled in the parliament on October 26.
Jeffrey, who is the president of Star, has so far issued a statement to call for a special state sitting to discuss the amendment, saying that such an issue should be decided by Sabahans and not federal ministers.
Phoong said if that is Jeffrey’s intention, then he could simply bring the motion to the state assembly as the point of order stated that the state assembly will discuss government affairs and motion first.
“The dates of the state assembly sitting are always decided by the state cabinet. Jeffrey has the power to call the special session, but why is he not doing it?
“Instead, he is just issuing a statement. This is strange. Does it mean that he did not get approval from Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor?”
“In fact, Jeffrey as the chief of a component party in ruling Perikatan Nasional has been involved in meetings with the federal government over the MA63 discussions.
“And he has been in power for more than one and a half years. Why is he acting like an opposition member and issuing statements as if he is not part of the government?” Phoong asked.
He said Star should be more proactive in defending Sabah’s rights and ensuring any decisions by the federal government that affect the Borneo states should first be referred to the Sabah government, in line with the spirit of federalism. – The Vibes, October 24, 2021
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