KUCHING, April 9 — Parliament must hold a sitting without any delay and explain to the people the significance of the federal government referring to Sabah and Sarawak as ‘wilayah’ (region or territory) instead of states without any amendment to the Federal Constitution, said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
He said this must not merely be a cosmetic change without any legal authority to create a false sense of security to lure votes for the next state election.
“This can be likened to where someone uses his ‘glamour name’ to look good, but legally in the MyKad his name is totally different thus giving that ‘glamour name’ no legal standing at all,” Dr Yii said in a statement in response to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin calling Sarawak a region during his recent visit here.
Dr Yii said the prime minister should reconvene Parliament, which is the best platform to have a proper debate and input on such an important topic.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP) lawmaker said the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government should also table the necessary constitutional amendments in Parliament.
According to him, the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, within the first year, tabled a constitutional amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution, aiming to give legal authority to the original status of Sabah and Sarawak as agreed upon in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He said the attempt failed due to rejections from the opposition at the time – Umno, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“The concern is that, with just the current name change without a constitutional amendment of Article 1(2) that clearly sets our special status, what will differentiate our wilayah from that of Wilayah Persekutuan (federal territory) Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, which are under the jurisdiction and authority of the federal government that creates and approves laws for that territory?” he asked.
Dr Yii said that under PH, the Special Cabinet Committee comprised politicians and leaders of both political divide, chief ministers of both Sabah and Sarawak, legal experts, academicians, and non-governmental organisations.
He opined the current model under the PN government had little accountability since it is unclear who is in the Special Council on MA63.
Discussions on matters of such importance should not happen only with parties on one side of the political divide, he said.
“Let us not make the same mistakes in the past under BN (Barisan Nasional) when such rights were taken away without the people knowing as it was done purely by one side of the political divide.
“That is why, if the prime minister is genuine and sincere about restoring our rights, there is no need to wait until the next general elections, he can open Parliament right now as it is the best platform for substantive debates and discussion on the matter with full transparency and accountability to the people,” added Dr Yii. — Borneo Post
