PUTRAJAYA remains committed and sincere in restoring the rights of Sabah and Sarawak, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the proposed amendment of Article 1(2).

He denied that the proposed amendment was merely cosmetic as alleged by critics, saying that the federal government vows to honour the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

“We recognise MA63. We will work to restore the rights of both east Malaysia states,” he told reporters after the launch of Sabah Bersatu in Penampang today.

The first reading of constitutional amendments – which would put Sabah and Sarawak on equal footing with the federated states of Malaya – drew flak, after what Sabah politicians claimed as, among others, “poor choice of words” by de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong.

The proposed amendment had omitted the identification of the states of Malaya and also the Borneo states while suggesting that there would be no change in the functions of the federal and state entities. 

Earlier today, Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said the state is opposed to the constitutional amendment tabled in Parliament this week as a key demand by it had been ignored.

The chief minister added that the state’s view that Article 160(2) of the federal constitution on the definition of “the federation”, which it said should be amended with Article 1(2), was not heeded by Putrajaya.

He, however, did not say if MPs from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), which he leads, would vote against the bill.

The GPS has 18 seats in the lower house and Pakatan Harapan will need its support to meet the 145 threshold or two-thirds majority to make a change to the federal constitution.

The amendment to Article 1(2) seeks to restore the rights of Sarawak and Sabah as intended in MA63.

On accusations that the state had reneged, Abang Johari said Sarawak reps in the technical working committee with Sabah had supported the Article 1(2) amendment, provided that it came with an amendment to the definition of “the federation”.

“We felt that an amendment on Article 1(2) alone does not fully address the aspirations of the people of Sarawak, tantamount to committing a fraud on the people.

“By amending Article 160(2), a reference to MA63 should be made in the federal constitution.

“The federal constitution in its current form makes no reference to MA63,” he said at a press conference in Sarikei today.

He said his stand on the constitutional amendments has been consistent.

“These amendments must be of a substantive nature and not merely in form.”

The chief minister said the technical committee at its first meeting on January 14 decided that no piecemeal amendments will be made to the constitution.

He added that as the tabling of the amendments is set at the third sitting of Parliament in October, no further discussions were held at the subsequent meeting last month. – April 6, 2019.