KUCHING, Feb 6 ― Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will only support the re-tabling of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill if it incorporates "pursuant to Malaysia Agreement 1963” to the original Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution, Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg insisted today.

He said GPS will also only support the amendment Bill if the definition of the "federation” in Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution is changed.

He said the interpretation of the "federation” in Article 160 (2) of the Federal Constitution should refer to the Federation of Malaysia as established under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, and not the Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1957.

"We will insist that the Bill must include the phrase ‘pursuant to Malaysia Agreement 1963’ and a change in the definition of the "federation”,” he told reporters after chairing the GPS supreme council meeting here.

"These two must be included in the amendment to the Federal Constitution,” he said, adding that the GPS Members of Parliament will not support it if it remains the same when it was first tabled in Parliament last year.

 The Article’s original wording put Sabah and Sarawak opposite the federated Malay states.

"The original Article 1(2) has defects. It is correct to say that we want to improve it.

"What happened is that the constitution is very vague as it does not really refer to MA63. The constitution is based on the Federation of Malaya 1957.

"We (Sarawak and Sabah) were not part of that agreement.

"So if we were to be included in the Federal Constitution, you must also include what had been agreed to by the Cobbold Commission, Inter-Governmental Committee Report and MA63 in that constitution. And then the interpretation must be there,” he said.

He said there are many provisions in the constitution that are based on the MA63 and IGC, just like in the case of 195B(3) on the modifications for Sarawak and Sabah of the distribution of legislative powers.

The Sarawak chief minister said he told Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Kiong what Sarawak wants to see in the Bill.

He said the GPS government will also want to look and study the text of the draft Bill before making any decision, either to support or otherwise.

"There is an on-going meeting between the state attorney generals of Sarawak and Sabah with the federal attorney general on the text of the draft Bill,” he added.

Liew had revealed that the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, which was defeated in Parliament last year due to the failure to get the mandatory support of two-thirds of the total number of Members of Parliament for any amendment to the Federal Constitution to pass through, would be re-tabled in the coming session.