KUCHING: Defer the ongoing efforts to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution and allow the select committee to work on the details, said state Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Datuk Snowdan Lawan.
He was commenting on the second reading of the amendment bill during yesterday’s parliamentary sitting.
“Reading a book cover only won’t make us know the contents of the book. The crux of the issue lies in how the contents of the ‘social contract’ are rectified and backdated, and previous loss to Sarawak and Sabah made good politically, socially and economically,” he said.
He insisted that Sarawak and Sabah wished to see the ratifications realised and not remain as mere amendment on paper.
“For the amendment to be truly effective, the clause containing the phrase “spirit of MA63” must be emphasised for that was the basis of the agreement,” he said.
He stressed that the legislative assemblies of Sarawak and Sabah should be consulted on the affairs affecting their states, and the fundamentals of the social contracts need to be realised and backdated to their original conditions.
“For example, power over the continental shelf which was ‘overridden’ by the Emergency Ordinance in 1969 resulted in the ‘surrender’ of Sarawak and Sabah’s rights over oil and gas. This needs to be rectified,” he said.
Snowdan who attended today’s Parliament sitting said, specifically, he agreed with Santubong MP Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi (GPS) that the amendment should have more details first before giving it a “frame”.
Work on the mechanisms and substance first, then develop the form or frame, he said.
