KOTA KINABALU, Nov 26 — Parti Warisan (Warisan) has been cautioned against misleading the public by claiming that it resolved the amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution regarding the status of Sabah and Sarawak.

Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, who previously led the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Secretariat under the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division, said Warisan’s claims contradict the facts.

In a video clip, Armizan said the proposed amendment was first tabled in 2019, when Warisan governed Sabah, but failed before being approved in 2021 with a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

“On April 9, 2019, when Warisan held power at both the state and federal levels, the bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat but the amendment failed because it did not secure the required two-thirds majority.

“The amendment to Article 1(2) was eventually passed in the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 14, 2021 with the support of 200 Members of Parliament, and the Dewan Negara approved the amendment on Dec 22, 2021,” said the former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Duties).

“This amendment occurred in 2021, during a time when Warisan was not leading the Sabah government and was also not part of the Federal Government,” said Armizan, the Deputy Secretary-General of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

Article 1(2) originally defined the Federation as consisting of the states of the Malay Peninsula, Sarawak, and North Borneo. The 2021 amendment reclassified Sabah and Sarawak as constituent regions within the Federation.

Regarding deep-sea fishing licences and permits, Armizan dismissed Warisan’s claim that it had advocated for the issue and successfully addressed the demand.

“Before these powers were returned, all deep-sea fishing licences were issued by the Federal Government through the Department of Fisheries Malaysia. The delegation of licensing powers to Sabah only occurred after the Warisan era, namely in 2021,” he said.

Armizan said the matter was agreed upon by the MA63 Special Council and subsequently approved by the Cabinet on October 29, 2021, followed by the Handing Over Ceremony of the Empowerment Letter related to deep-sea fishing licensing to Sabah on December 4, 2021.

“The matters related to deep-sea fishing licences were agreed upon, approved, and implemented in 2021, and Sabah at that time was led by GRS. Once again, these are the facts, and the misleading claims are those made by Warisan,” he said.

He added that the delegation of deep-sea fishing powers does not require a long time to implement, and once approved or agreed upon, the empowerment instruments can be completed relatively quickly.

For the latest updates on the Sabah State Election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php — Bernama