By Karen Bong
KUCHING, March 11: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin promises to honour the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) through making amendments to the Federal Constitution.
He emphasised that it was for that reason that a special ministry – Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Ministry which was headed by Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, who is Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president, was formed.
“We will be calling a meeting soon to discuss (matters) regarding the MA63 and also on the amendments that needed to be done on the Federal Constitution to fulfill the needs and wishes of people in Sabah and Sarawak as enshrined in MA63.
“This will be done urgently,” he told a press conference after chairing the first federal Cabinet meeting in Putrajaya today.
Muhyiddin emphasised that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) is government for all Malaysians as shown in the composition of the new federal Cabinet which consists of representatives of all races and from all over the nation.
He thus dismissed claims that the government will neglect specific groups of people in the community.
“This is a government that represents all races, including Sabah, Sarawak, Iban, Kadazan, Dusun, Malay, Chinese, Indian. We will work for all Malaysians. We will be fair to all communities. Whoever needed assistance, support and help from government, it will be given,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the previous government under Pakatan Harapan had planned to retable an amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution in the coming Parliament sitting, which has now been postponed from its original set date of March 9 to May 18.
On April 9 last year, the Bill to amend Article 1(2) failed to get the two-thirds majority needed to be passed in Parliament after Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Barisan Nasional (BN) members of Parliament (MPs) abstained from voting.
GPS had insisted that the words “pursuant to the Malaysia Agreement 1963” must be included in the amendment, along with amending Article 160 to define “federation” in reference to MA63 and not the Federation of Malaya 1957. — DayakDaily
