By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Dec 14: The Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2021 related to Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) has been passed with a two-third majority after its second reading in the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur today.
Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun announced that 199 out of 222 Members of Parliament (MPs) supported the Bill, while 21 MPs were not present.
MPs present included 18 Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) MPs—except for Dato Sri Tiong King Sing (Bintulu) who was absent due to election campaigning activities—and all six Democratic Action Party (DAP) MPs.
“With that, after the bloc voting, it managed to secure the two-thirds’ support as required by the Federal Constitution,” he said as reported in a national news daily.
The vote was divided into five blocs representing government and opposition MPs.
The Bill, which was tabled by de facto Law Minister Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, sought to, among others, list Sarawak and Sabah in the Federal Constitution as equal partners in the Federation of Malaysia.
It proposed to amend Article 1 of the Constitution by replacing Clause 2 to say that the states of the Federation comprises:
(a) the states of Malaya, namely Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor and Terengganu; and
(b) the Borneo states, namely Sabah and Sarawak.
It also sought to amend Clause 2 of Article 160 to insert a new definition of “Malaysia Day” and to change the definition of “the Federation” in line with the spirit of MA63 signed on July 9, 1963, and by virtue of the agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state dated Aug 7, 1965.
The Bill also aimed to amend Article 161A by replacing Clause 6 (a) to say that in regard to Sarawak, the indigenous races of Sarawak are as stated in the State law; and also to remove Clause 7. — DayakDaily
