KUCHING: Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, MA63 and Stte-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said that Sarawak should be viewed as a region.
She said this was reaffirmed when the constitutional amendment to Article 1(2) and Article 160 was passed in Parliament.
“I believe we are a region, forming the country Malaysia alongside Malaya and Singapore.
“When the Article 1 (2) and Article 160 on the definition of the word ‘Federation’ were successfully passed in Parliament, it reaffirmed our position as a region.
“We are not a state similar to the states in West Malaysia,” Hasidah told New Sarawak Tribune on Saturday (Feb 12).
She said this when asked to comment on whether Sarawak should be referred to as a region instead of a state in the federation.
Federal Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar on Friday said the state government would have to decide whether Sarawak was to be referred to as state or region in the federation.
This follows the consent by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2022 (Act A1642) which came to effect on the same day.
Hasidah said Sarawak were always given special provisions under the Federal Constitution such as special grants under Article 112(D).
She said, this also includes special powers to collect tax on commodities which could not be done by other states.
“Sarawak is rightfully a region and that will mean we are above that of the other states in Malaysia and an equal partner to the formation of Malaysia,” she said.
The Dewan Rakyat made history in Dec last year when the bill to amend the Federal Constitution in line with the provisions in the Malaysia Agreement (MA63) was passed with a more than two-thirds majority through a bloc vote.
The bill proposed to amend Clause 2 of Article 1 of the Federal Constitution to say the states of the Federation comprises:
- The states of Malaya namely Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor and Terengganu; and
- The Borneo states, Sabah and Sarawak.
It is also to amend Clause 2 of Article 160 to insert a new definition of “Malaysia Day” and to change the definition of “the Federation” in line with the spirit of MA63 signed on July 9, 1963, and by virtue of the agreement relating to the separation of Singapore from Malaysia as an independent and sovereign state dated Aug 7, 1965.
The bill also aimed to amend Article 161A by replacing Clause 6 (a) to say that in regard to Sarawak, the indigenous races of Sarawak are as stated in the state law; and also, to remove Clause 7.
