SABAHANS will stage a peaceful protest today, to demand the withdrawal of a constitutional amendment bill tabled by de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong on Thursday.

State rights activists want the bill, to amend Article 1(2) of the federal constitution to return the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to the Federation of Malaysia, yanked as they believe it is “not comprehensive”, fails to address certain constitutional issues, “does not meet the aspirations” of the people living in the two states, and does not stay true to the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).

A notice on the hour-long protest, to be held in Kota Kinabalu at 1pm, advised participants to gather along Jalan Kepayan near the International Technology Commercial Centre.

The protest will demand for MA63 to be honoured and the bill referred to a parliamentary select committee, said the notice.

A similar protest will be held in Kuching tomorrow.

Rights group Sarawak Association for Peoples’ Aspiration (Sapa) has called on people to attend the “flash mob protest” and send a strong message to Putrajaya.

The rally will last just 30 minutes, and will be held at Padang Merdeka at 9am.

Organisers said the protest will “insist that Sarawak and Sabah be restored and recognised as sovereign states that jointly formed Malaysia”, and demand that the amendment “explicitly and clearly state that the Federation of Malaysia is made up of the sovereign states of Sarawak, Sabah and Malaya”.

Meanwhile, three rights groups, in a joint statement, said Sabah and Sarawak should opt for self-determination in the face of the federal government’s “insincerity”.

The statement, signed by Daniel John Jambun, president of Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation; Peter John Jaban, founder of Solidariti Anak Sarawak; and Sapa president Dominique Ng, said the two states “should cut the Gordian knot” on MA63 and invoke Article 8 of the deal, “to embark on the road to self-determination in line with the United Nations Resolution 1541”.

By invoking Article 8, Sabah and Sarawak can withdraw from all cabinet posts, except those related to defence, internal security, foreign affairs and the Malaysian common market, said the statement, with the two states to contribute to the federal government only for the Borneo portion of the four areas.

The activists said if and when Article 8 is invoked, Putrajaya will have to stop collecting revenue in the states, and return oil and gas fields.

Article 8 states that North Borneo, or Sabah, and Sarawak can take their own measures to enforce and implement MA63 without having to amend the federal constitution.

“The governments of the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak will take such legislative, executive or other action as may be required to implement the assurances, undertakings, recommendations… in so far as they are not implemented by express provision of the constitution of Malaysia.” – April 6, 2019.