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Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Yong: DAP ultimatum confirms amendment is a trap

KOTA KINABALU  - The ultimatum from DAP that either Sabah and Sarawak support the 2019 Amendment bill, or else it will be "the end of MA63 committees", confirms the view of Sarawak Government MPs that the proposed amendment to Article I (2) of the Constitution is a trap, said former chief minister of Sabah, Datuk YongTeck Lee.

He pointed out that the amendment lumps Sabah and Sarawak together as a sub-section (b) in Article I (2) of the constitution in the category of States of Malaysia namely:

The Federal Constitution is amended in Article I by substituting for Clause (2) the following Clause:

"(2) The States of the Federation shall be

(a) Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak Perlis, Selangor and Trengganu ; and

(b) Sabah and Sarawak."

"In what way does the above amendment accord equal status of Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya? Instead, it reaffirms Sabah and Sarawak as simply another state equivalent to any other state in Malaya," said Yong.

He further noted that the 2019 Amendment bill leaves untouched Article 160 of the Constitution which defined ""The Federation" means the Federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957".

This means that the 2019 bill reinforces MA57 and dishonour MA63. MA57 is the Federation of Malaya Agreement MA63 is the Federation of Malaysia Agreement.

"If Sabah and Sarawak support the 2019 bill, then it means that the Sabah and Sarawak leaders have abandoned MA63 in favour of MA57. But if Sabah and Sarawak reject the 2019 bill, then the Federal Government will end the MA63 committees. This is the ultimatum given to us by DAP.

"This is a no-win choice for  Sabah and Sarawak. I congratulate the representatives of party Malaya, DAP, for such a master stroke to kill off the struggle of Sabah and Sarawak for compliance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963," said Yong who is also president of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

He thus said DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu, Chan Foong Hin, has exposed the true colours of his party DAP, by insisting that Sabah and Sarawak accept the toxic bill.

He then reminded that the people have not forgotten what Chan stated categorically in a 20 12 forum that "the 20 Points  are not valid". Another video of the (then Pakatan Rakyat) Kuching Declaration on 16 September 2012 also stated that 'Sabah and Sarawak are equal partners", suggesting that Sabah and Sarawak are not equal to Malaya.

"These evidence of DAP dirty tricks are still available in the social media. I believe Chan is intelligent. But I am
not sure if he realises that he has been turned into a puppet," quipped Yong.

He also advised Chan that if there is any doubt of the intent of the 2019 amendment bill, he should then read its Explanatory Statement:

"This amendment is made in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement concluded in 1963. It satisfies the aspiration of the State Governments of Sabah and  Sarawak and all people of Sabah and Sarawak. This amendment does not in any way, alter the functions of the Federal and State Governments under the concept of federalism."

"In other words, this 2019 amendment changes NOTHING. Anyone endorsing this 2019 bill is reinforcing MA57 (Malaya).

"The killer in the bill is revealed in the earlier sentence, that the amendment satisfies the State Governments of Sabah and Sarawak and all people of Sabah and Sarawak.

"It is abundantly clear that this statement is designed to kill off any further efforts to ensure full compliance with MA63. Because as the statement goes, the aspirations and hopes of all people of Sabah and Sarawak have been satisfied. There is therefore, no need for any other efforts, according to the explanation in this bill," Yong explained.

By Michael Teh

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