The bill seeks to, among others, list Sabah and Sarawak in the Federal Constitution as equal partners in the federation with the peninsular states.
It proposes to amend Article 1 of the constitution by replacing Clause 2 to say the states of the federation comprise:
- (a) the states of Malaya, namely Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor and Terengganu; and
- (b) the Borneo states, namely Sabah and Sarawak.
Parliament needs two-thirds majority to amend the constitution.
Tabling the bill for its second reading today, Wan Junaidi said the proposed amendment was part of the government’s commitment on fulfilling the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which had been agreed upon by Sabah and Sarawak.
In the past, there had been dissatisfaction over the autonomy of the two states, with both claiming federal authority to be overbearing.
There had also been unhappiness over the “slow” development in both states.
When Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya in 2018, it had set up a federal level committee to give more powers to the two Borneo states.
The issue continued under Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration and is now under Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government.