KUCHING: The Sabah State Legislative Assembly’s (DUN) Sabah recent endorsement to push for Parliament to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution has been called ‘is a little too late’.
Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the endorsement should have been done before the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government tabled the amendment Bill in Parliament earlier this month.
“If the amendment Bill had been referred to the two states (Sabah and Sarawak) for deliberation and endorsement (before being tabled and debated in Parliament), probably it would be worth it for the DUN of the two states to debate on it.
Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah
“Now it’s a little too late and the endorsement does not carry much weight,” he said in a WhatsApp message to The Borneo Post yesterday when responding to Sabah’s DUN unanimously endorsing a private member’s motion on Friday to push Parliament for the amendment.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said it was important for Sabah and Sarawak to revert to the original reading of the Article 1(2) to honour the sacrifices of ‘our forefathers’.
Abdul Karim asserted that the Sarawak DUN ‘is not obliged to follow any other DUN’.
“It is independent. Furthermore, matters on amendment to the Federal Constitution are a matter for Parliament to decide,” he said.
However, he said where the proposed amendment would affect the rights of Sabah and Sarawak, the subject matter should be referred to the two state governments for consent and endorsement.
Citing the recent amendment Bill as an example, he said the proposed amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution was not referred to the either the Sabah or Sarawak governments.
“I don’t think that referral to the two states has been done,” said the Asajaya assemblyman.
He went on to point out that the tabling of the Bill was done in a hasty manner as the Bill was handed out to members of parliament at the eleventh hour.
Sabah and Sarawak, he said, being partners in the formation of Malaysia, should have been consulted before the Bill was drafted and tabled.
“Because without the two states, there would be no Malaysia,” he said.
He questioned why the federal government distributed the Bill at the eleventh hour.
“Why the rush to amend? Such an important Bill should have been deliberated and discussed in detail with the two states instead of being rushed through,” he said.
The first reading of the amendment Bill took place on April 4, after which Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) stated the proposal did not reflect the aspirations and hopes of Sarawakians.
The PH government then further amended the wording of the Bill to match that of the pre-1976 Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution and tabled the Bill for its second reading on April 9.
The Bill, which was put to a vote after hours of debate in Parliament on the same day, failed to obtain the mandatory two-thirds majority and was hence rejected.
Santubong member of parliament Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has said that all GPS members of parliament would support an amendment to Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution if the words ‘pursuant to MA63 (Malaysia Agreement 1963)’ are included.