KOTA KINABALU: Sabah UMNO Youth Chief Ir. Abdul Aziz Julkarnain questions the lawyer who said the demand for one-third MPs from Sabah and Sarawak is not tenable.
In respond to a statement made by the lawyer in question in a Newsportal, he said Malaysia was a federal state formed from several separate territories before it was created.
The Federation of Malaysia was formed when the Federation of Malaya joined the territories of North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore in 1963, he said.
“Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his speech in conjunction with Malaysia Day 2018 last two years, has stated the Government’s commitment to “restore the status of to Sabah and Sarawak” as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution 1963, in accordance with the principles and spirit contained in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (Malaysia Agreement 1963) or better known as MA63,” he stated.
In the Constitution of Malaysia on September 16, 1963, as amended by
/, states the name of the Federation and its territories as follows:
() :-
(a) the States of Malaya, namely, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Trengganu; and
(b) the Borneo States, namely, Sabah and Sarawak; and
(c) the State of Singapore.
“The three territories back then did not own 2/3 majority from the total number of MPs as individual territory, reason being was to ensure no one could have 2/3 majority that would enable a territory to change the constitution to their own interest, their own whims and fancies, in order to safeguard the interest of the other territories especially Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.”
“Let us look at how Sabah and Sarawak had lost their leverage to safeguard their own interests by analysing the proportion of Mps according to each territory from 1963 to 2018,”he shared.
Malaya 104
Sabah 16
Sarawak 24
Singapura 15
1965
Malaya 104 (72%)
Sabah 16 (11%)
Sarawak 24 (17%)
Singapura (seceded from Malaysia)
1975
Malaya 119 (75%)
“Please take note, the 15 seats allocated to Singapore previously was taken by Malaya, that made the territory superior to the other territories)Sabah 16 (10%)Sarawak 24 (15%)”
2018
Malaya 166 (75%)
Sabah 25 (11%)
Sarawak 31(14%)
“Now, is it untenable?Not really. It is all about political will,” he said adding just restore the status of to Sabah and Sarawak” as enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution 1963, in accordance with the principles and spirit contained in MA63, if we are SINCERE to the people of Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah and Sarawak, being the other territories, will never be able to safeguard their interest as long as the ‘other territory’ always has a 2/3 majority (since 1965).”- or/BNN
