Cabinet sets new date for tabling of MA63 bill

26 Oct 2021

Oleh Farah Salim

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has decided to set another date for the tabling of bill to amend several provisions in the Federal Constitution relevant to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), said law minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

Initially, the bill was scheduled to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on 26 October 2021,

followed by the second reading on 28 October 2021.

“Following an engagement session during a pre-council meeting, attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, we could not reach a consensus on the proposed amendments to some relevant articles in the Federal Constitution.

“The new date for the first reading of the Bill will be determined after a briefing by the Attorney-General (AG) on the matter, scheduled this Friday during the Cabinet meeting,” he said in a statement.

According to Wan Junaidi, the decision was made to ensure that this Bill will obtain full support from all the ministers.

“Although the Cabinet has, in principle agreed to the proposed Bill, there are several

ministers, who are seeking further clarification on the amendments.

“That is why the Cabinet has decided that it would be best to set a new date to table the Bill after the briefing by the AG,” he said.

The proposed amendment of Article 1(2) was to restore the Article to its original arrangement as it appeared in the Federal Constitution of 1963 and the States of the Federation will then be defined as the States of Malaya (namely states in peninsular Malaysia) and the Borneo states (namely Sabah and Sarawak).