THE opposition has challenged the prime minister to prove Barisan Nasional is sincere about restoring Sarawak’s rights by amending Article 1of the Federal Constitution at next month’s Parliament sitting.

Sarawak Pakatan Harapan chairman Chong Chieng Jen promised that a bill proposing to return Sarawak to its position in the Federation of Malaysia, as set in the Malaysia Agreement 1963, would have the full support of the opposition.

“Table it. We’ll support it,” Sarawak PH chairman Chong Chieng Jen said in a media conference in Kuching today.

Chong was responding to Sarawak BN leaders’ rubbishing PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s promise to revisit the Malaysia Agreement and renegotiate terms that Sarawak, and Sabah, are unhappy about, at last Sunday’s “New Deal, New Hope” ceramah in Kuching.

“If the BN is sincere about restoring Sarawak’s status as per MA63, as the government of the day, the BN can at any time table an amendment in the Parliament for an amendment of the Constitution,” Chong said .

“Adopt the first thrust of Pakatan Harapan’s new deal in the coming parliament sitting by restoring Sarawak’s status as one of the three territories of Malaysia, not one of the 13 states in Malaysia.”

Article 1 of the Federal Constitution was amended in 1976 which downgraded the status of Sarawak, and Sabah, as autonomous territorial states to the level of the 11 states that make up Malaya.

The downgrade was the work of Najib’s father, second prime minister Razak Hussein, in the last year of his administration.

“Since we launched the five thrusts of our new deal for Sarawak, all the BN leaders could say about the new deal are merely criticisms like “memancing undi” (fishing for votes), “no sincerity” and questioning why the same were not implemented by Mahathir when he was prime minister.

“The BN cannot criticise the content of our new deal because of the simple reason that these are what Sarawakians want.

“In fact, such criticisms as ‘memancing undi’ and ‘why only promise now’ are admissions that the new deal is what Sarawakians want.”

Chong said as PH was not the government, it was not in a position to implement the terms of the new deal, but BN was.

He said BN was free to copy all or any of the five thrusts promised in the new deal.

“That’s the difference between PH and BN. Now we can only promise to implement the policies that Sarawakians want when we become the government after the 14th general election.

“BN can do it now. But despite knowing that it is what Sarawakians want, it still refuses to implement the policies.”

Parliament will convene for a sitting from October 23 to 30. – September 30, 2017.