THERE is no need for Parliament to vote to equalise Sabah and Sarawak with peninsular Malaysia, said Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said.

Shafie said the status of the two east Malaysian states is already enshrined in the federal constitution.

“The matter has already been discussed with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the steering committee revisiting Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“We only have to enact it to make Sabah and Sarawak’s status equal in the federation of Malaysia,” he told reporters after attending the Tanjung Aru Chinese New Year Celebrations in Kota Kinabalu today.

Shafie said this in response to a statement made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong that the proposal to revert Sabah and Sarawak’s status will be made when Parliament convenes in March.

On September 16 last year, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, recognising the special status of the two states, announced that the first step to restore their rights was to revert their status as equal in the Federation of Malaya, as in the formation of Malaysia in 1963. – February 10, 2019.