See Chee How
KUCHING (Aug 14): Political will, determination and courage are needed for Sarawak to reclaim its rights which have been eroded over the years, said Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How.
During the Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Southern Zone Task Force’s Facebook livestream last night, he said that Sarawak should not have any more excuses or concessions in reclaiming its rights.
“No more excuses and concessions from Sarawak to cause the erosion of Sarawak’s rights and constitutional safeguards to the aspiration, interests and advancement of Sarawak and all Sarawakians,” he said.
See said he disagrees with de facto Law Minister Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali who said that it would not be easy for Sarawak to reclaim its rights which had eroded over the years and that there were legal defects embedded in the country’s history, laws and Federal Constitution since the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
Hasidah had reportedly made such remarks when speaking and answering questions at the ‘Navigating thhe Impacts of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 on National Integrity’ virtual seminar which was hosted by the Sarawak Unity Foundation a few days ago.
“The Federal Constitution was originally the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya, but it was amended to give effect to MA63. The erosion of the constitutional safeguards and Sarawak’s special position and rights came later over the years after 1963.
“Article VIII of the MA63 provides that: The Government of the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak will take such legislative, executive or other action as may be required to implement the assurance, undertakings and recommendations contained in Chapter 3 of, and Annexures A and B to, the Report of the Inter-Governmental Committee signed on February 27, 1963, in so far as they are not implemented by expressed provision of the Constitution of Malaysia,” See said.
He also pointed out that without those safeguards, particularly MA63, there would be no Federation of Malaysia.
He explained that consequently, the national integrity in Malaysia is and must be premised upon honouring and upholding the spirit and terms of MA63 and the compliance and implementation of the recommendations in the Cobbold Commission’s REport as well as the Inter-Governmental Committee Report to safeguard the autonomous powers and special position promised and accorded to Sarawak.
“As a Sarawakian, it is the assistant minister’s duty as well as ours, to enlighten all Sarawakians and educate non-Sarawakian Malaysians, especially the federal government, that they must adhere to MA63 and the Federal Constitution as it was on Malaysia Day, to ensure that we can preserve and safeguard the true national integrity in Malaysia.
“It is simply wrong to find and give excuses for our failures to safeguard Sarawak’s special position and rights, and allowing the erosion of our rights to persist,” he said.
During the ‘Navigating the Impacts of The Malaysia Agreement 1963 on National Integrity’ seminar was hosted by the Sarawak Unity Foundation on Facebook, Sharifah Hasidah in response to a question conceded that it would not be easy for Sarawak to reclaim its rights which had been eroded over the years.
She had said such legal defects had been embedded in the country’s history, laws and the Federal Constitution since the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
“So it’s not going to be easy to rectify everything especially when we’re talking about amending the Federal Constitution,” she said, while asserting that the Federal Constitution had to be amended in such a way that it could support the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
At present, the assistant minister said the words ‘Malaysia Agreement 1963’ cannot even be found in the Federal Constitution.
“That’s why we are proposing the amendment to the Federal Constitution, that the words ‘Malaysia Agreement 1963’ must be defined in it. We will keep on pushing for the amendment to reflect the reality of MA63. It’s not going to be easy.
“It’s going to be tough but we will pursue it. It’s not impossible, (but) we need to have the tenacity and power to push it to ensure we will get it sooner or later,” she had said.