KOTA KINABALU – A Warisan rep has claimed that it only takes a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat to amend the federal constitution to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) – throwing yet another spanner into the ongoing discourse.
Tungku assemblyman Assafal @ Samsul Kamal P. Alian said a two-thirds majority is not necessary when Paragraph 30 of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) stated the amendment would only need a simple majority in Parliament as the 1976 amendment was unconstitutional.
“Sabah and Sarawak should take this route. I propose for Sabah and Sarawak to conduct their assembly sittings to discuss the constitutional amendment and procedures of the amendment as soon as possible.
“The real issue now is that the amendment of the constitution in 1976 was unconstitutional, giving Sabah and Sarawak the power to conduct a special constitutional arrangement as stated in Article 196(c) and IGC,” he said in a statement today.
Assafal said according to Article 159(4)(bb) of the constitution, the status of Sabah and Sarawak – as stated in Section 4(2) of MA63 – cannot be amended.
“So when Article 1(2) was amended in 1976, not only was it against MA63, but it was also unconstitutional for breaking Article 159(4)(bb).”
He said according to Article 161E of the constitution, Article 159(4)(bb) can only be amended if the amendment is for the purpose of equalising and assimilating Sabah and Sarawak’s status to that of Malaya’s.
“It must be reminded that Malaysia was formed for the purpose of decolonisation, and it is on the policy of equality and self-determination status, as stated by the United Nations Resolution 1514.
“The difference between Sabah/Sarawak and Malaya is only the independence status. Sabah and Sarawak had yet to achieve independence like Malaya did on August 31, 1957. Hence, the amendment of Article 1(2) can only be done if, and only if, it is for the purpose of providing independence to Sabah and Sarawak.”
Assafal said at the moment, the federal government has been keeping details of the amendment secret, which is why the Sabah and Sarawak governments must conduct legislative sittings to discuss the matter.
“Right now, we don’t even know when the amendment is going to be mentioned. How can we prepare ourselves for the debate if matters about the amendment are kept secret?” – The Vibes, November 27, 2021
