By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, April 4: The first reading of the bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution took place in Parliament about five minutes after noon just now.
The amendment involves removing Sarawak and Sabah from the list of Malaysian states and placing them in a different grouping.
The initial Article 1(2) reads “The States of the Federation shall be Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu”.
It is proposed that Sarawak and Sabah be taken out of this list and placed in another category, to read:
“(2) The States of the Federation shall be –
(a) Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Selangor and Terengganu; dan
(b) Sabah and Sarawak.”
The description attached states that the Bill proposes to replace the old amendment with the new one where all states to return to their original status as at the time Malaysia was formed in 1963.
— DayakDaily
