Its president, Roger Chin, said while some might argue that the amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution was form over substance, it nevertheless had reinstated the original intent and spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
The Dewan Rakyat passed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021, based on the MA63, on Tuesday. Among other things, Sabah and Sarawak will now be listed as equal partners with Peninsular Malaysia in the federation.
“This is a rebooting of that very spirit and enthusiasm that prevailed in 1963. It is a revisit of the exuberance, hopes and aspiration of our founding fathers.
“It is hoped that we will be able to build on this and revisit, review and recalibrate the relationship between the Borneo states and the states of Malaya. This is perhaps the beginning of a new and exuberant Malaysia,” Chin said.
As such, he said, it might be appropriate to deal with the issue of “equal partnership” at this point.
He said it was believed that when the British and Malaya first started the concept of “Malaysia”, it was based on the position of each of the parties being treated as equal partners.
“That is Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak are equal in all respects vis-a-vis the formation of Malaysia. It was intended at the very beginning for all these parties to come together and create a new nation in the name of Malaysia.
“However, along the way, both the British and Malaya changed course. Instead of creating a brand-new nation, the Borneo territories were merely seceded to the federation of Malaya and there was mere name change from ‘Malaya’ to ‘Malaysia’.
“Wherever the recent amendments may take Malaysia, it is hoped the original intent and spirit will be preserved and the aspiration and hopes of the people of the Borneo states will be fulfilled. And perhaps this is a start.”
Chin said that as far as MA63 and the Malaysia Act were concerned, there was still a tremendous amount of work to be done between the federal government and the Borneo states.
There was, for example, the need to address issues in respect of certain Acts that were extended or approved by Parliament and which affect the two states.
These include the Continental Sea Act 1966, the Petroleum Mining Act 1966, the Petroleum Development Act 1974, the Exclusive Zone Act 1984 and the Territorial Sea Act 2012.
“Except for the Territorial Sea Act, all the other Acts were made applicable to the Borneo states while the proclamation of emergency was still in force, pursuant to Article 150, which overrides the requirement of Articles 4, 79, 159 and 161E.
“It is hoped that both the federal government and the Borneo states will be able to resolve these and other issues now, for the ultimate prosperity of the nation as a whole,” he said.
Chin also noted that, although only a formality, the governors of Sabah and Sarawak needed to agree to the constitutional amendments to return equal status with the peninsula to both states before it could take effect.