GETTING enough support to amend the contentious Article 1(2) of the federal constitution is now the main priority of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong.

“That is very, very important as it is in the heart of the people of Sarawak and Sabah,” he told reporters in Kuching today after a discussion with members of the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak (AAS).

“We want to go back to the pre-1974 arrangement,” he said of the constitution where in 1974, the status of the two Borneo territories was downgraded and reduced from equal partners in the federation to mere states of the same stature with states in Malaya.

Article 1(2) currently reads: “The states of the federation shall be Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu”.

Liew, the minister in charge of law, said amending that article was important because once amended, other contentious issues, like oil and royalty, regaining lost autonomy, “will (just) fall into place”.

“We have to start with that (Article 1 (2)) first.”

Liew and Economic Minister Mohd Azmin Ali have been tasked with gaining support from opposition MPs for the required two-thirds vote.

“We have been tasked to work together with the opposition MPs to come up with an agreement or consensus on getting the two-thirds to amend the constitution.”

He said convincing “colleagues on the other half of the (political) divide” in Sabah and Sarawak to come together on this would not be hard.

“When it comes to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), I don’t think anyone (in Sarawak and Sabah) will say ‘no’.”

Last month, the chief whip in parliament for Sarawak’s ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Fadillah Yusof, gave an assurance that the 19 MPs from the state will support any bill to amend the constitution to reflect terms embodied in the MA63.

Fadillah had said it was not fair for the Pakatan Harapan government to assume that the opposition in Sarawak would not agree to support matters of paramount interest to it.

GPS’ 19 lawmakers and Sabah’s Gabungan Bersatu Sabah (GBS) 10 if added to PH’s 125 would give the government a total of 154 votes – out of a total of 222 – to push through any constitutional amendments, he said.

The 154 votes surpass the required two-thirds of 148. – October 8, 2018.