KUCHING, April 30 – The Sarawak State Assembly today unanimously endorsed a motion which proposed a comprehensive amendment to the Federal Constitution upon conclusion of discussions on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) with the Federal government.
Forty-seven lawmakers from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) took part in the debate, lasting seven hours, after the motion was tabled by Assistant Minister of Law, State-Federal Relationship and Project Monitoring Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.
She said the comprehensive amendment, among others, proposed to restore the status of Sarawak as a partner equal to Federation of Malaya when the Malaysia Agreement, 1963 was agreed and entered into.
“It also proposes to safeguard the legislative and executive powers of Sarawak, the sources of revenues and special grants assigned to Sarawak and its financial autonomy,” she explained.
She said the motion proposed to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution by inserting “pursuant to Malaysia Agreement 1963”.
She said Article 1(2) should read: “The States of the Federation, pursuant to Malaysian Agreement 1963, shall be…”
Hasidah said the motion also proposed to insert a new Article 85A relating to the disposal of federal land in Sarawak.
She said the consent of the state government must be sought if such land were to be disposed of or to be used by another federal agency.
“In the case of land granted by the state government to the Federal government in pursuance of Articles 83 and 85, the land shall be reverted or surrendered back to the state government upon the refund of all premium paid by the Federal government,” she said.
Hasidah also said the motion proposed to amend Article 95B (1) (a) by adding that there should be no amendment made to supplement List II or List III of the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution or to include any matter not already in any of the Lists without the consent of the legislatures of Sabah and Sarawak to be expressed by a resolution.
She said the definition of “the Federation” under 160(2) should mean the Federation established under the Malaysia Agreement signed on July 9, 1963.
Hasidah also said the motion proposed a new definition of “Malaysia Day” to mean September 16, 1963.
She said after years of campaigning, Malaysia Day which fell on September 16 was officially declared as national public holiday to commemorate the birth of Malaysia.
She said although the Federal Constitution makes reference to August 31 as Merdeka Day, there is no definition of Malaysia Day even though this term is used in separate parts of the Constitution such as Articles 19(4), 95C, 161(1) and 161A(6)(b).
“If Merdeka Day could be constitutionally defined, why can’t “Malaysia Day” be specifically defined in Article 160(2).
“This motion proposed that any future amendment of the Constitution must incorporate a definition for ‘Malaysia Day’,” she said.
Apart from the recognition to the MA 63 and Malaysia Day, Hasidah said the various races forming the native population of Sarawak should also be properly defined.
“In its current form, the natives of Sarawak are not comprehensively defined. It is proposed that this list be reviewed to ensure it covers all natives of Sarawak,” she added.
She said Article 161A(7) should list out all the indigenous races of Sarawak, including proposing adding the words “or Ibans” after the words “Sea Dayaks”, the words “or Bidayuhs” after the words “Land Dayaks” and the words “or Lun Bawang” after the word “Muruts”.
Hasidah said the motion also proposed to transfer “Tourism” from Item 25A in List I or Federal List to be listed as Item 10 in List III or Concurrent List, and “Environment” as Item 19 to List IIIA or Supplement to the Concurrent List for Sabah and Sarawak.
Later when winding the debate, she assured that the observations and suggestions from the members will be taken into account in the discussions with the federal government in the future, especially in the special steering cabinet committee on the review of MA63 and technical committee.
She also said the GPS government does not expect any favours from anyone in the fight for state’s rights.
“We fight for what is constitutionally ours. We do not need charity. We want what is legitimately ours,” she said.
“We Sarawakians are strong enough, smart enough, smart and strong enough to determine our destiny. We don’t have to collude with Umno or Pas or anyone to determine our future,” she said.
