KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen needs to stop giving any more lame excuses that mislead the public regarding the Federal Constitution Amendment Bill 2019, and start focusing on his duties as the federal Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.
In stating this, the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Women chief Kho Teck Wan says in view of the sluggish economy currently, Chong should seriously think about ways to reduce the cost of goods, and also providing more business opportunities for Sarawakians.
Responding to Chong’s statement about the showcause letter from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) not mentioning the need to amend Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution, Kho points out that the need to amend the definition of ‘Federation’ in Article 160(2) is known by the MPs from both PH and GPS.
“Chong himself, during the first tabling of the Bill, mentioned that GPS MPs demanded for Article 160(2) to also be amended.
“According to the Federal Constitution Article 160(2), the definition of ‘Federation’ is defined as the ‘Federation established under the Federation Malaya Agreement 1957’.
“Many Sarawak legal experts, including the GPS leaders, have proposed that the definition of ‘Federation’ in Article 160(2) be amended to ‘the Federation established under the Malaysia Agreement 1963’. Without the amendment, Sarawak and Sabah would each be considered as ‘one of the States’ in the ‘Federation of Malaya’,” she said.
Kho said she was at the Parliament during the day of the second reading, and was puzzled as to why despite having many opportunities to speak, no PH parliamentarians spoke up about the need to amend Article 160(2) during the entire seven-hour debate.
She said this showed that the PH MPs, especially those from Kuching, knew all along about the need to amend FC Article 160(2), yet chose to stay silent and dared not question the Law Minister in the debates.
“Had the Amendment Bill 2019 been passed on April 9, it would have further affirmed Sarawak as one of the 13 states in the Federation of Malaya. Sarawak will not be in any better position than she currently is,” she stressed, adding that GPS would continue to fight for federal’s recognition of Sarawak as equal partner.
She also reminded Sarawakians that amending the Federal Constitution was ‘a serious matter that should not be rushed into and taken lightly by any party’. Any amendment to the Federal Constitution impacting Sarawak’s financial resources and special allocations should also be referred to the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, she added.
Kho opined that many Sarawakians today are taking an interest in learning the contents of Malaysia Agreement 1963, the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Reports and the Federal Constitution.
“Sarawakians are more aware of our rights as compared with the year 1976. The late (former chief minister Pehin Sri) Adenan (Satem) had led us in the journey towards the devolution of power since 2015.
“Sarawak also has more professionals, and is much stronger in her financial position than in 1976. Any move to mislead the public will not pass the sharp eyes of Sarawakian easily,” she said.