S'wak proposal for amendment to Article 160(2) curious

LETTER | The Sarawak government’s proposal that Article 160 (2) of the Federal Constitution be amended since the interpretation of the phrase the “Federation” still refers to the federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 is rather curious.

With all due respect, Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg is misconceived on the facts and law when he said that the interpretation should be amended to refer to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Even a cursory read of the Federal Constitution, as it stands now, would suffice to dispel the need for the proposed amendment.

The Federal Constitution was first introduced as the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya on Merdeka Day, August 31, 1957. It was subsequently introduced as the Constitution of Malaysia on Malaysia Day, September 16, 1963.

It was the Malaysia Act 1963 (Act 26 of 1963) passed by the Federation of Malaya Parliament that amended the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya to give effect to the agreement – the Malaysia Agreement (MA63) – that “the British Colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak and the State of Singapore shall be federated with the existing States of the Federation as the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore, and that the name of the Federation should thereafter be Malaysia.”

The amendments were necessary “so as to provide for the admission of those States (Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore) and for matters connected therewith.”

The Constitution of the Federation of Malaya thus became the Constitution of Malaysia – the Federal Constitution as it is now known – on Malaysia Day.

Simply put, the Federal Constitution in 1963 has given effect to MA63. To put it in another way, the Federal Constitution has incorporated the terms of MA63 – until the constitutional amendments in 1973.

The Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2019 tabled by the Pakatan Harapan government would have restored the 1963 position of Sarawak and Sabah as it was in 1963. 

Curiously, the bill was defeated.

On the facts and law, there is no need to amend Article 160(2) as proposed by the Sarawak government. Article 160(2) may not define the word “Federation” but section 3 of the Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967 (Act 388) does. It states “Federation” means Malaysia.

With all due respect again, the people of Sarawak and Sabah should not be offended that the word “Federation” is not defined in Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution. There are several words used in the Federal Constitution that are not defined in Article 160(2). A prominent one is the word “Prime Minister”.

Like the word "Federation", "Prime Minister" defined in section 3 of Act 388 to mean the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

MA63 should not continue to be politicised.

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