Press Statement By Kelvin Yii:
On top of putting forth the constitutional amendments to restore our original rightful status under MA63 in Parliament tomorrow, the government must take the extra step to declassify the Pakatan Harapan Special Committee MA63 report to be transparent with the progress with devolution of powers which was agreed together under PH about 2 years ago, and more importantly, take the extra step to insert Health and Education under the Concurrent list of the Federal Constitution as the foundation and first step for us to regain autonomy in this 2 important sectors.
As the Dewan Rakyat convenes tomorrow to debate and decide on the proposed Bill to amend the Federal Constitution to be in line with the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63), I recalled the fateful day of 9 April 2019.
It was the first time the MA63 bill was brought to the floor of the Parliament to be passed. Undeniably, it was a huge first step initiated by the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) Federal Government to right the wrongs of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) 1976 Federal Constitution amendment by restoring the original spirit of MA63 and realising the wishes of the people to reinstate the status of equal partners to Sabah and Sarawak.
Yet, what was supposed to be a historic moment for the nation did not come to fruition as a number of elected representatives from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) alongside their allies from UMNO and PAS opted to put political interest above the interest of Sarawak.
The fate of the amendment was up in the air for months post-Sheraton move after February 2020 as the then Perikatan Nasional Federal Government, which GPS is part of, dragged its feet in making significant steps toward reviving the constitutional amendment that they foiled.
On top of that even with a specialised Sabah & Sarawak Affairs Minister, drawing extra salary and funds from public coffers, little have been done in terms of progress of what was agreed before especially the 17 out of 21 items under the PH Special Committee.
Since then, we have lost out not just 2 years of restoring our status but also a decrease in allocations to Sarawak especially under Article 112D Special Grants to Sarawak. Before this, in less than two years, PH doubled Sarawak’s annual grant under Article 112D – with plans to quadruple it over five years.
However, after Sheraton move the Perikatan Government reversed the increase by PH and reduced such special grants by half for the past 2 years, making us miss out of such additional and needed funding especially in view of our need for development in Sarawak.
It was not until the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability was signed by PH and Prime Minister on 13 September 2021 that the MA63 was given a new breath of life.
In view of the upcoming constitutional amendments tomorrow, I will be debating and urging the Federal Government to declassify and release the Special Cabinet Committee Report on MA63 done under the PH government for public access.
PH had agreed to a total of 17 out of 21 matters tabled by the Sabah and Sarawak governments at that meeting. Such transparency is so important for the public public to assess the progress of what was agreed upon under PH. Fact is, many things including the full autonomy and management of oil and gas distribution in Sarawak was one of the 17 items agreed in that report itself.
When it comes to upholding Sarawak rights keeping the government accountable, it cannot be dismissed outrightly by the government using the Official Secret Act (OSA) as an excuse.
In November 2021 itself, PH wanted to ensure a more meaningful devolution of power by proposing to insert education and healthcare in the concurrent list as a responsibility to be shared among federal and state governments of Sarawak and Sabah. Unfortunately, this proposal was also rejected.
Even so, I call upon the Federal Government, especially as GPS is the Law Minister, to expedite these 2 amendments, which will be the building block for us to get autonomy in health and education in Sarawak.
It is as clear as day that Sarawakians could have benefitted from this amendment two years ago and follow-up negotiations to restore the rights of Sarawakians could have been underway at a faster pace instead of the delay that was experienced in the last 32 months
Tomorrow, the MA63 will again get its time of day in the Dewan Rakyat to be debated. While i will be pushing for more especially the 2 main items mentioned above, I will not jeopardise any first steps to restore our rights under the MA63.
As a proud Anak Sarawak, I call everyone to do the right thing. I will vote, together with other DAP and PH colleagues for the amendment. I will not repeat the GPS’ mistake of putting political interest above Sarawak’s and that of the wider nation.
Sarawak interest is beyond my personal interest and should be beyond any party’s interest. The bill is just a first step for Sarawak to restore what is rightfully ours. There may be more hurdles along the way and the DAP will continue to play our role to ensure proper checks and balances in the interest of all Sarawakians.
