By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Oct 15: Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is confident that the proposed amendment Bill to the Federal Constitution will get two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The Minister in Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) said he had conducted separate official meetings with Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN), Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan), and Pakatan Harapan (PH) of which he said all parties had shown their support towards the proposed amendment Bill.
“So far so good. From how I look at it, the people that I met and interact with, the whole lot of them, based on my white paper, everybody has said that they support (the proposed amendments).
“I cannot predict what will happen in Parliament, but from the engagements, it seems to have a lot of support. So I’m very positive,” he told reporters at a programme with Sarawak media personnel at Pullman Hotel in Kuching today.
Asked whether the Bill will also receive the support from Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP), Wan Junaidi said they would be “killing” themselves if they did not support it.
“How can you not support the amendment? It is a package inclusive of amendments to Article 1(2), Article 160 and 161A as well as to include the definition of Malaysia Day. So I do not see any reason at all for Sarawakians and Sabahans to not support (the amendments),” he added.
Wan Junaidi who is also the Santubong MP further stated that among the proposed amendments are with regards to Article 1(2) involving the arrangement of states in Malaysia of which the Federal government seeks to return to the earlier arrangement in 1963 before it was amended in 1976.
The amendment to Article 160(2) involves the definition of ‘federation’ which currently refers to the federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 when it should be amended to refer to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Other proposed amendments in the Federal Constitution include the insertion of the definition of Malaysia Day as Sept 16, 1963 and to remove the definition of ethnic groups that are considered ‘native’ to Sarawak and introducing a new clause that will allow Sarawak’s laws to determine the definition of ‘native’. — DayakDaily
