Parliament on Tuesday approved the constitutional amendment reinstating the Borneo States to what it was when the Federal Constitution was first formulated following the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Malaysia Act 1963. — Picture by Hari Anggara
KOTA KINABALU, Dec 16 — The Sabah Law Society lauded the constitutional amendment to put Sabah and Sarawak on par with Peninsular Malaysia but said there were further issues that required resolution.
SLS resident Roger Chin said the constitutional amendments were just the beginning of the process to fully restoring the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“In so far as the MA 63 and Malaysia Act are concerned, there is still tremendous amount of work to done as between the Central Government and the Borneo States.
“For example, we need to address issues in respect of certain Acts that were extended or approved by Parliament and which affect the Borneo States,” he said.
He cited the Continental Sea Act 1966, the Petroleum Mining Act 1966, the Petroleum Development Act 1974, the Exclusive Zone Act 1984 and the Territorial Sea Act 2012 as examples.
He said that all the Acts, except for the Territorial Sea Act, were made applicable to the Borneo States while the Proclamation of Emergency was still in force, overriding various legal requirements including the consent of the state governments of the Borneo states.
“Wherever the recent Amendments may take Malaysia, it is hoped that original intent and spirit will be preserved and the aspiration and hopes of the people of the Borneo States will be fulfilled and perhaps this is a start,” he said.
Parliament on Tuesday approved the constitutional amendment reinstating the Borneo States to what it was when the Federal Constitution was first formulated following the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Malaysia Act 1963, by amending Article 1 (2) and Article 160 (2) at the same time.
Chin said that there was argument that the amendment to Article 1(2) is “form over substance” but expressed hope that lawmakers can now build on the spirit and revisit, review and re-calibrate the relationship between the Borneo States and the States of Malaya.
“This is perhaps the beginning of a new and exuberant Malaysia,” he said.