KUCHING, Oct 8 — Parliament needs to restore the original Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution, which had stated that Sabah and Sarawak were equal partners of Malaya in the federation, before the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) can be fully implemented, Datuk Liew Vui Keong said today.
“Once this amendment to Article 1(2) is done, I think the rest will fall into their places. We have to start with this one first,” the de fact olaw minister told reporters after meeting with the members of the Advocates Association of Sarawak (AAS) here.
He said talks between the federal government and the Sarawak and Sabah governments will then follow on the equal distribution of wealth, oil and gas resources, oil royalty, regional development and other related issues.
He said the amendment to Article 1(2) (Act 354) passed in Parliament on August 28,1976, downgraded the status of Sarawak and Sabah from equal partners of Malaya at the formation of Malaysia to among the 13 states in Malaysia.
Liew cited Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as saying that Sarawak and Sabah were equal partners to Malaya.
The de facto law minister said he and Economics Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali have been entrusted to work with Opposition Members of Parliament to gain their support to amend Article 1(2) to its pre-1976 position.
He said he will be meeting the MPs from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) later today to get their support.
He believed that the GPS Members of Parliament will give their support to restore the status of the two Borneo states to their original position.
“We need to reach consensus with them to amend the constitution, especially on this Article 1(2),” he said.
He said any amendment to the Constitution required the support of two-thirds of Members of Parliament as in this particular case.
