PH will never be able to push it through Parliament without us: Wan Junaidi
KUCHING: The historic Bill to amend the Federal Constitution that will return Sabah and Sarawak to their original standing in the federation may not see the light of day.
This is because Sarawak’s GPS lawmakers, those from Sabah, BN and PAS MPs could still raise their concerns when the bill is debated after the second reading.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government yesterday tabled the Bill in Parliament despite objections from the lawmakers of the two Borneo states as well as BN and PAS Members of Parliament.
Santubong MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said any Bill to amend the Federal Constitution could only be passed with a two-thirds support of the 222-seat Parliament.
“They (Pakatan Harapan) will never be able to push it through without us.
“This is why the PH government, as a face-saving move, should allow the Bill to be referred to the parliamentary select committee (PSC),” he told the New Sarawak Tribune.
He said if the Bill were to be put to vote, PH would certainly be defeated as they would need at least 148 votes to see the Bill through.
“The BN and PAS are with us and I don’t see how PH will be able to get the support needed to pass the Bill,” he added.
PH is currently nine seats short of an outright two-thirds majority.
Meanwhile, observers warned of a hung Parliament should Pakatan Harapan (PH) fail to get the two-thirds majority required for the amendment to take effect.
Social media was ablaze yesterday when Pakatan Harapan abruptly and without proper or ample prior notice tabled the amendment Bill.
Opinions differ on the reasons for rejecting the Bill but the effect is the same with the majority of Sarawak and Sabah lawmakers disagreeing to the tabling of the Bill by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong.
Among those who made known their disappointment was Batang Sadong MP Datuk Sri Nancy Sukri who has consistently campaigned for a proper approach to the restoration of Sarawak’s rights and to tackle bread and butter issues like finances, revenue and sources of income for the state first as opposed to the cosmetic change intended in the Bill presented yesterday.
“We in GPS had spoken to the minister prior to all of this and we were given the impression that the Bill was only going to be tabled later and we thought as per the rules of Parliament we would have had at least 48 hours to peruse the bill,” said Nancy in a phone interview last night upon her arrival in Kuching.
“It is not that we want to oppose the Bill but we feel that the cabinet committee meeting should be concluded first and as we are all representatives of our people there should have been space for us to bring the Bill back for consultations with our people before any tabling for the reading was done.
“Datuk Wan Junaidi has made steps to request that the Bill be sent to a select committee for due process before the second reading but I fear it might fail and if so we will have to debate the Bill at which juncture I believe even PH MPs from Sabah and even some from Sarawak may not vote the Bill through and failing the two-thirds majority requirements for constitutional amendments.
“Furthermore, from my reading there seemed to be a problem with the wording as well and it feels as if we were actually being further downgraded and not actually being restored, plus the amendment alone was not enough because there were numerous other amendments that have to be made to give proper effect to this one.
“GPS always asked to defer the Bill and concentrate on the cabinet-level committee and allow it to accomplish all that is necessary first before making cosmetic window dressings that may actually be a downgrade more than anything else.”
Meanwhile Party Bumi Kenyalang adviser, former state assemblyman and lawyer Voon Lee Shan, disagreed with the tabling of the Bill for different reasons.
His reading into the matter concurs with the voices of cession and independence for Sarawak with most taking the view that not only is MA63 not worth revisiting but rather the document is void and that the very formation of the federation is flawed.
Voon in a press statement said: “The tabling of the proposed amendment to Article 1(2) in Parliament was to divert the attention of the people of Sabah and Sarawak from the real issue affecting the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.
“The real issue is that doubt arose whether Malaysia was properly constituted or not. If Malaysia had not been properly constituted, no amount of amendment to the constitution could regularise the status of Sabah and Sarawak within the federation. In simple language, Malaysia was a “stillborn child”.
Nancy and Voon cannot be more opposite in their reasoning for opposing the bill at this juncture and the divided opinions will keep arising. What is uniting Sarawak and Sabah is that something is wrong with the proposed bill and while some want it deferred others want it expunged entirely.
