By Nancy Nais and Karen Bong
KUALA LUMPUR, April 9: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he did not understand why opposition MPs were against amending the Federal Constitution in relation to the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
In his debate in Parliament today, Anwar said the amendment would return Sabah and Sarawak to their pre-1963 position and both be regarded as equal partners in the federation instead of simply as states.
“I do not understand why the opposition MPs are against this when all these years under the Barisan Nasional (BN) rule, nothing was done for the two states. What is the issue that you want to dispute?” he asked.
He requested the opposition MPs to look at the amended Amendment to Federal Constitution Article 1(2) Bill 2019, which was tabled by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for second reading this afternoon.
The two changes Dr Mahathir proposed in the Bill are first to insert ‘States of the Land of Melayu’ (Negeri-Negeri Tanah Melayu) before Johore and second to insert ‘The Borneo States’ before Sabah.
The proposed Amendment to Federal Constitution Article 1(2) Bill 2019 as read by Dr Mahathir is as follows:-
1. The Federation shall be known, in Malay and English, by the name Malaysia.
2. The States of the Federation shall be –
a. The States of Malaya, namely Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu; and
b. The Borneo States, namely Sabah and Sarawak.
“We are correcting what was wronged. As for the steering and technical committee’s discussion, there will be further discussions to negotiate further on other issues even after the amendment.
“Everything is taken into consideration, so it is not logical for them to dispute the amendment,” Anwar emphasised. — DayakDaily
