Keningau MP and Solidariti Tanah Airku president Jeffrey Kitingan told FMT the amendment to Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution would be meaningless if Article 160 (2) was not also amended to redefine the term “the federation”.

In the latter article, the term refers to the federation established under the 1957 Federation of Malaya Agreement.

Jeffrey was commenting on last Friday’s announcement that the federal Cabinet had agreed to table a bill at the current Dewan Rakyat sitting to amend Article 1 (2) so that Sabah and Sarawak would no longer be known as “states” but territories of equal status with Peninsular Malaysia.

“As it stands,” he said, “the term ‘the federation’ in Article 1 (2), even if amended, will still mean the Federation of Malaya and not Malaysia.

“This interpretation would obviously exclude Sabah and Sarawak because Sabah and Sarawak were party to the formation of Malaysia, not the Federation of Malaya.”

According to him, a legal description of the structure of Malaysia is found only in an annex to MA63.

“The federal government of Malaya should have made the necessary changes to the Federal Constitution in August 1963,” he said.

“If ‘Malaysia’ had been properly defined in Article 160 (2), all these present amendments would not be necessary.”

He added that the meaning of “equal partnership” would be clear only if MA63’s definition of “Malaysia” were incorporated into Article 160 (2).

“The way it is, it is not clear which entity is an equal partner to Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

“Perhaps the amendment to Article 1 (2) means Sabah and Sarawak are now equal to every state in Malaya and not the Federation of Malaya or that the governments of Sabah and Sarawak are on equal footing with the federal government.

“Which is it?”