MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong today said the cabinet has agreed to amend Article 1(2) of the federal constitution to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with Peninsular Malaysia.

He said the decision to amend the constitution was reached at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday and was a major step towards the compliance of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

“The amendment to the federal constitution will be tabled at the next Parliament session scheduled to begin on March 11, and it will need two-thirds majority support to be passed.

“The ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) government currently has 135 MPs, including nine from Warisan and one from Upko. To have two-thirds majority support, we need at least 148 MPs.

“But, I’m confident that the MPs from Sabah and Sarawak will give their full support to restore Sarawak and Sabah as two separate territories in the Federation of Malaysia,” he said after closing a forum titled Restorative Justice - An Alternative To Imprisonment in Kuala Lumpur oday.

Liew said it was only right that the rights of Sabah and Sarawak, as stated in MA63 be restored, starting with the amendment to the federal constitution to return their status as equal partners with the peninsula.

“After the amendment, Sabah and Sarawak will no longer be known as ‘states’. We also have other plans to ensure the rights of Sabah and Sarawak can continue to be protected.

“That is why we are so grateful to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak for their concern in this matter (returning Sabah and Sarawak’s rights as stated in MA63),” he added. – Bernama, March 8, 2019.