The Pakatan Harapan presidential council said today the government’s decision to postpone tabling the Bill for its second reading was disappointing, and noted that the PH coalition has consistently worked to reinstate the two Borneo states’ position to their original as included in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar should provide his assurance that the proposed constitutional amendments to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s status would not suffer further delays, the Pakatan Harapan presidential council said today.
It said the government’s decision to postpone tabling the Bill for its second reading was disappointing, and noted that the PH coalition has consistently worked to reinstate the two Borneo states’ position to their original as included in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“As such, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) must give his commitment to quickly implement the amendments to provide justice to the people of Sabah and Sarawak,” the council said in a statement today.
The statement was signed by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, and United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) President Datuk Seri Madius Tangau.
The council also suggested that the postponement was inconsistent with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability between PH and the federal government.
On October 18, the special council on MA63 chaired by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob agreed to the proposal brought by Wan Junaidi to redefine some provisions in the Constitution within the context of MA63.
He said in the amendments, “states of the Federation” will be defined as the states of Malaya (namely states in Peninsular Malaysia) and the Borneo states (namely Sabah and Sarawak).
On October 23, Wan Junaidi had said the Bill would proceed as scheduled in Parliament on October 26.
However, he later said that the second reading has been moved to another date and not on October 28 as initially scheduled.