KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — Sarawak now has the opportunity to translate the recent constitutional amendment into practical and visible actions to reaffirm its position as a component of the Federation and not just as one of the member states of Malaysia, says Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala.

He said Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which sought to change the title and style of ‘chief minister’ and ‘assistant minister’ to ‘premier’ and ‘deputy minister’, respectively, is consistent with the recognition of Sarawak’s special position in the Federation.

"Under the Malaysia Agreement (MA63) which has now become part of the Federal Constitution, Sarawak is definitely not in the same league or in the same constitutional position as Penang and Melaka which have chief ministers as the chief executive of their state.

"Therefore, when we have this opportunity to differentiate and reaffirm our special constitutional position as provided in the recent amendment to the Federal Constitution, we should have no hesitation to support this Constitutional Amendment Bill,” he said when debating the Bill yesterday.

Gerawat (GPS-Mulu) said the opposition should not view the constitutional amendment as a mere change in title and style for the Chief Minister.

"This amendment is all about our status and dignity as an autonomous state in the Federation of Malaysia. It is about the pride and dignity of every Sarawakian today and our future generations.

”It is also a visible historical and legal milestone to remind every Sarawakian, especially for our future generation, that Sarawak is not just an ordinary member of the Federation of Malaysia, that we are a founding member of the Federation of Malaysia and that we have special rights and privileges which other states do not have (except for Sabah),” he said.

He also said that with the incorporation of MA63 into Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution, where Sarawak’s rights and privileges are set out, "it is up to our initiative to explore and continue to fight for our rights under MA63 which are not captured or set out in Schedule 9 of the Federal Constitution”.

"Sarawak’s rights and privileges under MA63 which is now part of the Federal constitution are not limited to those enumerated under Schedule 9 of the Federal Constitution.

"It is for us as elected representatives of the people to continue to fight for, realise, protect and preserve our rights as provided in the Federal Constitution which include MA63 which go beyond schedule 9 of the Federal Constitution,” he said.

Gerawat also touched on Section 5 of the Bill which sought to incorporate into the State Constitution the very same amendment to Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution on the definition of the Federation of Malaysia.

This was approved by the Parliament on Dec 14 last year and assented to by the Yang Dipertuan Agong on Jan 11.

"I must highlight that this amendment incorporating MA63 and the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report into the Federal Constitution was not included in the amendment proposed by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2018 and that was the reason why Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) members of Parliament abstained from voting.

 "The amendment proposed by the PH government then was limited to Article 1(2) which was superficial and did not have any substantive effect without including the amendment to Article 160(2).

"The PH parties must have felt obliged to support the constitutional amendment tabled by GPS in December 2021 as the amendment was comprehensive and substantive compared to the amendment proposed by PH in 2018,” he said. — Borneo Post