Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking said state opposition lawmakers will in principle support the amendments provided that other necessary amendments are also made.
This means restoring the actual terms of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), he told FMT.
“Secondly, to repeal and modify the Territorial Sea Act 2012 and the Continental Shelf Act.
“We need to correct a lot of things. But as law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had promised, this is the first phase, which is for the ‘low-hanging fruits’ to be amended first, followed by the rest.
“We will support anything that is good for Sabah and Sarawak, especially on outstanding matters of MA63.”
Previously, Wan Junaidi said the opposition bloc in the Dewan Rakyat had agreed in principle to the proposed constitutional amendments to bring it in line with MA63.
He said he had met Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional representatives and also held separate meetings with Pakatan Harapan and Warisan to get their support for the amendments.
Yesterday, Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Maximus Ongkili said the special council on Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MKMA63) had agreed on the proposed amendments that will return Sabah and Sarawak to their equal status in Malaysia.
The proposal to amend Article 1(2) and 160(2) of the Federal Constitution was tabled by Wan Junaidi during the council’s meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday.
Wan Junaidi said the current amendment was different from that proposed by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018, adding it would define the status of all states in Malaysia in line with the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, MA63 and the position following Singapore’s exit in 1965.
Speaking to FMT, Sabah DAP’s Sandakan MP Vivian Wong said they welcomed the move by Wan Junaidi to call the opposition for a briefing previously over the amendments.
“We appreciate the gesture and will support what is beneficial for our people,” she said.
Warisan whip Rozman Isli, who is also Labuan MP, said the party, led by its president Shafie Apdal, had met Wan Junaidi twice over the amendments.
Sabah DAP secretary Chan Foong Hin, who is also Kota Kinabalu MP, said PH would support the proposed bill as the amendment of Article 1(2) is similar to what the PH-Warisan government intended to do in April 2019.
However, they failed to secure the two-thirds majority needed for the amendment to be made. Only 138 MPs of the 221 in the House at the time voted. Of the 59 lawmakers who abstained from voting, 18 were from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
GPS claimed that “MA63” was not mentioned in the Federal Constitution and proposed its own amendment towards this end.
Chan said there were also opinions that the current proposed amendments were not entirely perfect as it would not touch on any financial obligations.
“But I would take it one step at a time. To restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak to pre-1976 (when they were relegated to mere states in the federation), is always the first step — we are not one of the 13 states,” he said.
He added the engagement with PH lawmakers by the current government was also part of their commitment to the memorandum of understanding both sides had agreed to previously.
“With the current fragmented political ecosystem, the constitutional amendments need a two-thirds majority to be passed. We are not like Umno, PAS and GPS who had objected to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, with reasons best known to themselves.”
Leiking said they had reminded Wan Junaidi that it was the PH-Warisan government that got the ball rolling, with former de facto law minister, the late Liew Vui Keong, leading the charge then.
“It began during our time but it was not supported at that time by GPS because they wanted more amendments.
“And of course Umno and PAS also didn’t give their support. Let’s see whether they will support it now,” he said.
At the same time, he questioned why it was taking Ongkili a long time to resolve the remaining four out of 21 MA63 issues that were identified by the PH-Warisan government previously.