“The way they talk makes it seem as though it’s easy to turn a state into a federal territory,” he said. “Do they think it is their father’s land?
“Doing a Trump these days means talking without thinking, and both these gentlemen are doing a Trump.
“From the little legal knowledge I have, you cannot make a state a federal territory. It is against the Federal Constitution. You need to amend the constitution.”
Teng, who is also Penang Gerakan chief, was speaking to reporters last night at his party’s Chinese New Year open house.
He said the boundaries of a state could not be altered without the consent of that state’s legislative assembly and the Conference of Rulers.
“If you look back at how Labuan island was ceded from Sabah in 1984, you will see that the Federal Constitution had to be amended,” he said, referring to Constitution (Amendment) (No.2) Act 1984, or Act A585.
The amendment provided for the establishment of the Federal Territory of Labuan and for matters connected to the alteration of Sabah’s boundaries.
He said the entire state of Penang would have to be dismantled if the goal was to turn it into a federal territory and he questioned the wisdom of anyone who imagined the state assembly would give its consent.
“How would that happen? Every assemblyman has taken the oath to defend the state constitution,” he said.
“This is why I have said that Ku Nan (Tengku Adnan) can keep on dreaming.”
He also said Lim should not mislead the public about the law by telling them they must vote for Pakatan Harapan to save Penang from becoming a federal territory.
Referring to Tengku Adnan’s claim that the proposal was prompted by the desire to help the Malays in Penang, Teng said that if that were the case, the minister might well have to turn every state in the country into federal territories “because there are Malays in all states”.
He said it was regrettable that Tengku Adnan had unwittingly given DAP prime fodder for its propaganda.
“If I were mischievous, I would say that Tengku Adnan is helping DAP to keep Penang. He has given the DAP propaganda a big gift.
Asked what he thought of Lim’s proposed “I Love Penang” campaign to counter Tengku Adnan’s move, Teng said: “We all love Penang, not just him. We love it so much that we are sued.”
Teng is facing a defamation suit for claiming Lim had caused the Penang Development Corporation to lose RM220 million in profit by turning down a joint-venture deal.
Tengku Adnan made his proposal in a recent radio interview. He said Langkawi and a part of Malacca should also be turned into federal territories.
He has come under heavy fire in the past few days, mainly from DAP.
On Saturday, a news report quoted him as saying he was thinking of the welfare of the Malays. Yesterday, according to a Bernama report, he said houses in Penang would be more affordable if the state was a federal territory .