KUCHING, April 30 — The ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) today asserted that any amendment to the Federal Constitution must not result in the erosion of the legislative and executive powers of Sarawak’s State Legislative Assembly.
Assistant Minister of Law, State-Federal Relationship and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said such amendments should not also result in removing any of the safeguards for the special interests of Sarawak as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Instead, she said the amendment should provide Sarawak with additional protections against any encroachment onto the constitutional safeguards by the federal government.
“Above all, any amendment to the Constitution must make Sarawakians proud to be part of Malaysia and as Malaysians thereby strengthening the unity of our nation and able to make a positive contribution to the progress and prosperity of Malaysia.
“A happy Sarawak will contribute to a happy Malaysia,” she said when tabling a motion to amend the Federal Constitution in the Sarawak State Assembly here.
Hasidah said any amendment to the Federal Constitution should be studied in a rational but not emotional or politically charged environment.
“Any amendment to the Constitution must safeguard the legislative powers of the Sarawak State Assembly and also the executive powers of the state government,” she added.
Hasidah said from time to time, Parliament had without prior consultation with Sarawak, altered or amended the Legislative Lists.
“In 1994, Tourism, then a residual power of the State, was placed in List I (Federal List) when the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 1994 was passed in Parliament.
“In 1981, Prevention and extinguishment of fire, including fire services were taken out of List IIA and placed in List III (Concurrent List) as Fire safety measures and fire precautions in construction and maintenance of buildings,” she said.
Hasidah said in 1988, Item 17 in List IIIA on libraries, museums, ancient and historical monuments and records and archaeological sites and remains, was removed, and a new item Preservation of heritage was put under the Concurrent List.
“All these show that Parliament can by constitutional amendment remove, alter, or modify the legislative powers of this august House,” she said.
She said such amendments which take away, alter or modify the powers of Sarawak State Assembly, not only affect its dignity, powers and privilege as a legislative body but the legislative as well as executive powers of the state.
“We therefore must have provisions in the federal Constitution to prevent any further erosion of legislative and executive powers of the state,” she said.
She proposed that any amendment to the Legislative List of the State or the placement of residual subject matters on any Legislative List must have the consent of the Sarawak State Assembly to be expressed in the form of a resolution duly passed by a majority of its members.
Hasidah also expressed her dismay and disappointment that the recent Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was presented with undue haste to Parliament even though it was agreed at the January meeting of the Technical Committee on MA 63 that such a Bill would not be presented to Parliament until October, 2019,”she said.
She said despite the suggestions by Members of Parliament from GPS that the Bill be referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee for study, it was put to the vote and ultimately, defeated.
“I am rather astonished that in the aftermath of this historical defeat of the constitutional amendment Bill, the de facto Minister for Law Datuk Liew Vui Keong had announced that a Special Parliamentary Select Committee would be formed to study amendments to the federal Constitution.
“This is the exact same proposal proposed by our GPS MPs and which was rejected by the Federal Government,” she said, adding that the minister would have avoided embarrassment to himself and the federal government if he had accepted the constructive proposals from the GPS MPs.
