Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian said he spoke on behalf of Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and DAP, where they had no objection to the first part of the amendment which was to lower the age at which a person can contest in the state election from 21 to 18 years.
“Although we are aware the second part was to ensure only Sarawakians would be eligible to be a member of the state assembly, the proposed amendment on Article 16-2(2)(a) and (b) is still ambiguous.
“We cannot define a person solely based on his or her birthplace and the birthplace of one or both of the parents and vice versa,” he said when debating the bill at the state assembly sitting here today.
He added that a child born outside Sarawak, whether in Sabah, the peninsula or overseas, to one or both parents who were Sarawakians, would make the child a natural Sarawakian by birth or by any other definition.
“On the other hand, a child born in Sarawak to both parents who were also born in the state but are Sabahans or Penangites who just happened to be in Sarawak during childbirth and have not been naturalised as a Sarawakian cannot be considered or accepted as a Sarawakian as suggested by the definition prescribed under the current content of the amendment proposal.
“Meanwhile, a child whose parent or parents were born in Sarawak but remain as Sabahans or Penangites and yet are defined as Sarawakians, is therefore eligible to be elected as a state assembly member,” he said.
Baru said without a clear description of definition beyond birthplace and normal place of residence, the same person can vote and technically be eligible to be a state assembly member of Sarawak and Sabah at the same time by virtue that he is a Sabahan in nature (Sabahan parent/parents) but also a Sarawakian by birth and place of residence as prescribed in the proposed amendment.
Citing Clare Rewcastle-Brown as an example, the writer and owner of Sarawak Report online portal, who was born in Sarawak and assuming she has a child born and resides in Sarawak, “won’t that make the child eligible to be a member of this august House”?
“Thus, we cannot support the bill.”