SUPP Statement on “1 of 3 States” and The Federation

suppadmin | December 15, 2015

SUPP gives full support to our YAB Datuk Patinggi Adenan bin Hj. Satem and the State Government in the current DUN session which addresses the discrepancies between changes to the Federal Constitution and the State’s Rights and covenants which were enshrined in the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC) and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

In the past 45 years since the formation of the BN Coalition Government various leaders from our Party had given in to Inter Party stability as paramount conditions for the State Government to govern and with the hope that the goodwill generated by this Principle would be beneficial to our people in the long run. The similar “subservient” relationship by the State to the Central Federal Government has now resulted in unbalanced development between the Central and our State. It is time to go back to the original concepts of the Coalition.

SUPP has been at the forefront reviewing the discrepancies by comparing the three documents that framed the Formation of Malaysia: the IGC Report, the MA63 and the Federal Constitution. Unlike the Federal Constitution, the IGC Report and the MA63 are deemed to be International Treaties which cannot be altered by anyone including the Federal Parliament or Cabinet. As Treaties they will be key Referencing documents should there be any dispute in the conduct of State affairs with the Central Government.

SUPP gives its full support to any effort by both Governments to study the items of Federal enactments which are contrary to the IGC Report and MA63. Over the past year, the Party has kept in close contact with experts who have studied these in depth and have identified certain key amendments which needed attention for the smooth development of Sarawak in future.

As an overall principle, any amendment of the Federal Constitution which is contrary or in breach of any clause or part of the IGC and MA63 (affecting the terms agreed by Sabah and Sarawak in forming Malaysia with Malaya) should be ultra vires and is not applicable to the two States.

The major misunderstandings between the State and Federal Government can be traced back to the amendments that “demoted” the positions of Sabah and Sarawak from two Regional components of Malaysia to be two States of Malaysia’s thirteen States.

In Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution, it says “The States of the Federation shall be Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu” which is inconsistent with the Article 4 (2) of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 which stated,

The States of the Federation shall be –

(a) the States of Malaya, namely, Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu; and

(b) the Borneo States, namely, Sabah and Sarawak; and

This means that rights in the beginning of the Formation of Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak were originally 1 of 3 States and NOT 1 of 13 states. The Federal Government must understand that Malaysia is a Federation of Nations and not Nation-State like Malaya. The amendment that “demoted” the positions of Sabah and Sarawak was done due to enactment of Act A354 in 1976. Therefore, SUPP calls upon the State Government to address this crucial issue and appeals to the Federal Government for its indulgence and positive actions to rectify this historical mistake.

In the same connection, SUPP wishes to highlight the incorrect definition of “The Federation”. Now, if we look into Article 1 (1) of the Federal Constitution, it says “The Federation shall be known, in Malay and in English, by the name Malaysia. The States of the Federation shall be Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu”.

When we refer to Article 160 – Interpretation, in the Federal Constitution, “the Federation” means the Federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957.

It is important to reiterate that Sabah and Sarawak never signed Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957. They (Sabah and Sarawak) signed the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Therefore, we hope the interpretation of “the Federation” to be amended to “the Federation established under the Malaysia Agreement 1963”.

We hope the above two key issues of the Federal Constitution can be adequately and conclusively addressed so that the future developments of Sabah and Sarawak will be positively guided henceforth.