KUCHING, Dec 14: Sarawak and Sabah can now demand all rights and promises enshrined in Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) as it is now bound in the Federal Constitution.
De facto Law Minister Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar highlighted this following the passing of four amendments related to MA63 to the Federal Constitution in the Dewan Rakyat today which he described as a historical moment to the people of Sarawak and Sabah.
“The amendments would truly give recognition to the demands and special status of Sabah and Sarawak upon forming Malaysia.
“As a result of this, the federal government can no longer say the demands from Sabah and Sarawak are not in the constitution or in the law of Malaysia because it is already in the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement today.
With the recognition of MA63 in the Federal Constitution, Wan Junaidi added that the government can now refer to all the promises made in 1963 in detail and spelled out in the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) report, which is the in-depth study of the Cobbold Commission Report on the demands of Sabah and Sarawak.
He explained that the amendment would see MA63 placed onm an equal footing with the Federal Agreement 1948 and Federal Agreement 1957 as it details out the stage of the formation and the direction of Malaysia from the Federation of Malaya 1948 and to the direction of the Federation of Malaya 1957 when the Federal Constitution was adopted in 1957.
“When Malaysia was formed in 1963, except several items of safeguards, legal and special position that have been agreed upon, some promises in the MA63 were not included in the Federal Constitution and as such the Agreement itself was not truly recognised.
“What we are doing here is to place the MA63 in the Federal Constitution in order to become the real Malaysia in the context of the three agreements—Federal Agreement 1948, Federal Agreement 1957 and the MA63.
“It gives dignity to Sabah and Sarawak as being part of Malaysia, which then created this country,” he added.
To questions on the tangible benefits derived from this, Wan Junaidi who is also Santubong MP, said not all are about material and monetary benefits but this is about the recognition of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners within Malaysia.
An example of this, he emphasised, would be Sabah and Sarawak having control over their respective immigration borders, complete control over their own natural resources including oil and gas, forests and land and all things found under the subsoil of Sabah and Sarawak.
“In fact, Sabah and Sarawak should also have their own judicial commission which we still do not have now, despite being one of the promises under the Agreement. As per the Agreement, Sabah and Sarawak State governments via the Governors, should have the authority to appoint the commissioner, unlike any other state,” he said.
The Bill, he added, is one out of four key initiatives to be carried out under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the federal government and Pakatan Harapan (PH).
The other initiatives listed in the MoU, which was signed in September, are:-
i) Transformation in government administration—anti-party hopping law, limiting tenure of Prime Minister to not more than 10 years and implementation of Undi18.
ii) Parliamentary reform – reintroduce Parliamentary Services Act, amendments to the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 and to introduce Members of Parliament Code of Ethics.
iii) Independence of the Judiciary. — DayakDaily
