SIBU: The failed Bill to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution has soured relations, according to SUPP Dundong branch chairman Wong Ching Yong.
Addressing the branch pre-Workers’ Day dinner on Thursday, Wong said regardless of whether Pakatan Harapan (PH) or Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is right or wrong, the consequences of the constitutional amendment and its interpretations may have already sawn the seeds of disunity and suspicion among the people and governments of Sabah and Sarawak that otherwise, since 1963, have shared common political interests and views on matters like Malaysia Agreement (MA63) and the common fight to have equal rights with the 11 states in Malaya.
On April 9, Pakatan Harapan failed to obtain the two-thirds majority it needed to amend
Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution after Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Islam Malaysia
(PAS) MPs abstained from voting. MPs from Sabah however supported it.
“The stark difference in political stand of lawmakers from the two territories resulted in Sarawak now having to fight it alone because the eleven states of Malaya and Sabah seem to share the same front in this constitutional amendment and its interpretations,” Wong said.
On the relocation of the registry office of the High Courts of Sabah and Sarawak from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu, Wong said it had caused an uproar among Sarawakians particularly the legal fraternity spear headed by the Advocates Association of Sarawak (AAS) which vehemently opposed the move and considered the relocation decision unconstitutional, because it seemed that there was no consultation among the Prime Minister, chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak and the Chief Judges before the decision was made.
However, the Sabah Law Society (SLS) said that the relocation of the High Court Registry office will not cause any inconvenience to anyone.
From the different stance of the AAS and SLS, the relocation of the court registry has also soured the professional relationships between the legal fraternities of Sabah and Sarawak, he said.
“Many people said the issues of the amendment of Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution and the relocation of the High Court Registry, the biggest loser may be the warm friendship among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak because the historical brotherly friendships and feelings, close political rapport between the two sides, especially on the issue of common interests such as MA63 may be under stress now, resulting in serious differences and contradictory views and stance between the two territories.
“This is really sad and we hope the federal government will appreciate the dilemma,” he said.
Wong also believed that the decision to relocate the Registry of the High Courts of Sabah and Sarawak was only a political game.
“Did the federal government genuinely fail to notice that the relevant constitutional provisions for the relocation of the registry need consultation among the
Prime Minister, Chief Ministers of the Sabah and Sarawak and the honourable Chief Judge?” he asked.
Moreover, the language used in the said provision of the Federal Constitution is not complicated. One must remember that the current Attorney General is also a constitutional expert, and that two senior judges are involved. What is puzzling is that the Federal Court Secretariat announced the relocation of the registry of the High Courts of Sabah and Sarawak on April 19 and on April 23, it made a U-turn announcing that it will not relocate the Registry of the High Courts of Sabah and Sarawak from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu on May 1, 2019.
Wong said therefore, whispers and talks in the coffeeshops are that the biggest winner of the two constitutional issues are actually the leaders of the Malayan political parties who have skillfully used the two constitutional issues to successfully create a crack among the peoples of Sarawak and Sabah and their politics.
“This time around, the people of Sarawak have witnessed the “Dive and Rule” strategy the brainchild of British colonialism which was beautifully executed by the political parties from Malaya,” he concluded.
