KUALA LUMPUR: The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021 to empower Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in the Malaysian federation has been approved after over two-thirds of Dewan Rakyat members supported the bill.
During the first bloc voting for the second reading of the bill under the policy stage, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun announced that 200 members of parliament had supported the bill while the remaining 20 MPs were not present in the House.
No one rejected the amendments brought by the government.
"Therefore, the bill will now be tabled for the second reading under the committee stage. Anyone would like to debate? No debates?
"In that case, the bill will now be read for the third reading, and I, therefore, decide that another bloc voting shall be held now.
"The result for the second bloc voting is as follows: 199 members of this House have supported (the bill), 21 are not present and so, since there is a two-thirds majority support, this bill shall be approved now," he said in the Lower House today.
Earlier, Minister in Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar tabled the much-awaited bill for its second reading.
The bill, which was tabled for its first reading on Nov 3, among others seeks to restore Sabah and Sarawak's positions as equal partners in the federation with the peninsular states.
The bill proposed to amend Article 1 of the Federal Constitution by replacing Clause 2 to say that the states of the Federation comprise of:
(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.
The amendments include Article 160(2) of the constitution by adding the definition of Malaysia Day to replace the word "Federation" in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Aside from this, Article 161A of the constitution will also be amended by replacing paragraph (a) of Clause 6 with "in relation to Sarawak, a person who is a citizen and belongs to one of the races specified by the state law as indigenous to the state" and to remove Clause 7.
Wan Junaidi said the proposed amendments were part of the government's commitment to fulfilling the MA63 which had been agreed upon by Sabah and Sarawak.
He said the amendments were also in line with the government's transformation agenda to restore the confidence of the public as well as foreign investors in the government's capability to ensure political stability and smooth implementation of the country's policies toward sustainable socio-economic development.
"The understanding, as well as the political, economic, and social stability expected to be achieved in Malaysia through this bill, is important in creating a strong foundation for the Malaysian Family," he said.
Wan Junaidi said the proposed amendments had been agreed to by both the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak before being approved by the Special Council on MA63 and the cabinet in October.