Liew shows the present Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution during the interview.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution is expected to be altered in terms of wording before the second reading by the Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Parliament tomorrow, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong.
Liew said the altered wording will follow that of the 1963 version of Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution:
(1) The Federation shall be known, in Malay and English, by the name Malaysia.
(2) The States of the Federation shall be –
(a) the States of Malaya, namely Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, and Terengganu; and
(b) the Borneo States, namely Sabah and Sarawak.
1963’s version of Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution.
During an interview in his office at Parliament, he said he had met the Prime Minister and the federal Attorney General, adding: “We have no issue on that.”
After Liew tabled the first reading of the amendment Bill on April 4, many non-Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs had expressed their negative views towards the proposed amendment.
They were of the opinion that the proposed amendment did not reflect the aspiration and hope of Sarawak and Sabah while some legal opinions had it that the proposed clause (a) should read “the Federated States of Malaya” while clause (b) should be “the Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak”.
Liew pointed out that it was the constitutional amendment in 1976 that altered the status of Sabah and Sarawak.
“The amendment stays for 43 years and the previous administration did not take any giant step to amend it.
“Less than a year PH government took over, and in line with PH election manifesto of bringing the original position in 1963 back to Sabah and Sarawak, we tabled the first reading of the Bill on (last) Thursday,” he said.
According to Liew, the proposed amendment gained consensus from all relevant stakeholders prior to the tabling of the first reading.
However, when a lot of protesting voices arose following the first reading, he said the federal government listened to different opinions.
He called upon all MPs to take part in the debate after the second reading of the amendment Bill in Parliament tomorrow.
After the interview, Liew met some Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leaders believed to be discussing on matters regarding the amendment Bill.