Commenting on a statement by Parti Warisan Sabah Supreme Council member Martin Tommy, Sen told FMT he found it amusing that anyone would think changing Article 1 (2) would finally harmonise the constitution with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“Article 1 (2) is not the determinant,” he said. “The bigger problem can be found in Article 160 under the definition of ‘the federation’.
“Martin is the political secretary of law minister Liew Vui Keong and both of them should know that.”
Article 160 defines “the federation” as the entity established under the 1957 Federation of Malaya Agreement.
Sen argued that whenever the term appears in the constitution, it always means the Federation of Malaya, of which Sabah and Sarawak are not members.
He said Martin, “if he is sincere”, would work towards redefining “the federation” so that it would refer to the federation established under MA63.
“This would correct Sabah and Sarawak’s status so that they become equal partners in the Federation of Malaysia,” he said.
Sen, who was Upko Youth chief before he quit the party in July, also criticised Martin for accusing Parti Bersatu Sabah acting chief Christopher Mandut of using MA63 as a “political weapon”.
Mandut, in a cynical response to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s promise to revive MA63, said on Thursday that Sabah would not have been denied its rightful status if Mahathir had not prolonged the state of emergency during his previous stint as prime minister.
Sen said Martin seemed to have forgotten that Warisan had used MA63 as its political weapon in its election campaign.
“He shouldn’t tell others what not to do when his party has done worse,” he said. “This is hypocrisy.”
Sen acknowledged that Barisan Nasional could have resolved the MA63 issue during its rule of more than five decades, but he said it was important to note that Mahathir was prime minister for two-fifths of that duration.
“What has he done in all the time he was given? Mandut was right when he said Mahathir suppressed Sabah’s voice by imprisoning rights activists such as current Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president Jeffrey Kitingan.”