KUCHING, Sept 6: Upon perusing the Hansard of Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sittings from 1979 to 1981, Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth Central secretary-general Milton Foo believes that there was no evidence that DUN had given the mandate to the establishment of the federal port in Bintulu.
“It follows that both the said 1979 and 1981 Acts which had been passed unilaterally by the Malaysian Parliament without consultation from Sarawak may be contrary to the provisions of the Federal Constitution thus rendering the said Acts ‘void for unconstitutionality’,” he said in a media release yesterday.
“If by passing any Act of Parliament unilaterally and without consultation from the Sarawak government and/or Sarawak DUN, it would definitely put Sarawak’s interests at great stake, as tomorrow the Parliament could simply pass another Act to declare and build another federal port in any part or territory of Sarawak without any endorsement from Sarawak,” he added.
He thus held that it was utterly absurd to say that the Federal government has the right to do so as long as the bill has been tabled in the Parliament and the law has been passed by the Parliament notwithstanding that Sarawak was not agreeable to it.
Foo, who is also a board member of Kuching Port Authority (KPA), bombarded Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How for making a preposterous claim by jumping the gun to defend the exclusive rights to the Bintulu Port as the federal port by the passing of the Declaration Of An Area In The Bintulu District To Be A Federal Port Act 1979 and the Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981.
“The pertinent issue in question now is whether the Bintulu Port which is declared as federal port under the said Acts (i.e. the Declaration Of An Area In The Bintulu District To Be A Federal Port Act 1979 and the Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981) is constitutional or not, namely whether or not DUN has duly endorsed the so-called federal port in 1979 or 1981,” he pointed out.
He also echoed the views of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Youth chief Datuk Snowdan Lawan that it was still within the ambit of the Sarawak government’s jurisdiction to revisit and where necessary, to review the lease of state land or the establishment of the port took place in relation to Sarawak’s constitutional rights.
Foo added that the Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing, being also the minister in charge of all ports in Sarawak, had a good arguable case on the merits when the latter said that despite the port was declared and built under the said 1981 Act, there were laws passed in Parliament which stated that some laws can only be effective after the endorsement of DUN.
“See’s remarks against Masing for attempting to incite and fuel anti-federal sentiments which would strain the federal-state relationships only shows that he (See) is only subservient to the federal but not to his people of Sarawak,” he said.
He also reminded See that he was the elected representative of Sarawak by the people of Sarawak but not the Malayan.
“What is wrong to right the wrong if there is any element of irregularity or impropriety or even unconstitutionality in the establishment of Bintulu Port?” he questioned.— DayakDaily
