Amendment Bill to right the wrong done by previous government — Mordi

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Constitution Bill (Amendment 2019) serves the purpose of righting the wrong done by the previous administration in the constitutional amendment way back in 1976.

When debating the Bill yesterday, Mas Gading MP Mordi Bimol said the amendment, which will restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in Malaysia, is for the future of Sabah and Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole.

“We are restoring the spirit of the original Constitution, and to right the wrong in the 1976 amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution,” he said in Parliament.

The Democratic Action Party (DAP) lawmaker said the 1976 constitutional amendment was the outcome of the collective consensus by the Federal Cabinet at the time.

Mordi reminded all that the amendment in 1976 downgraded the status of Sabah and Sarawak to among the 13 states in the country.

According to him, none of the MPs from Sabah and Sarawak objected to the amendment Bill in 1976 but a couple of DAP MPs, who were opposition then, did voice their objection.

“A total of 130 MPs supported the amendment Bill in 1976. Based on the Parliament Hansard, no MPs from Sabah and Sarawak objected to the Bill.

“So, whose fault was it that the status of Sabah and Sarawak was altered? And for 43 years, no effort has been engaged to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak. What we want is for the spirit of MA63 to be restored,” he said.

He added that the DAP MPs who objected to the 1976 amendment were Lim Kit Siang, Dr Tan Chee Khoon, Farn Seong Than and Lee Lam Thye.