KUCHING: Proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution including the definition of "the federation" and Malaysia Day will properly recognise Sarawak's position as one of three equal partners in Malaysia, says Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

       The Chief Minister said the amendments were comprehensive and reflected the true spirit and intention of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

       "These amendments to the definition of 'the federation' under Article 160(2) are crucial and must be done so that the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and its annexures are recognised in the Federal Constitution.

       "The amendment will also introduce the definition of Malaysia Day which was never before defined," he said on Friday (Oct 15).

       He was speaking after receiving a courtesy call from Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib on the proposed amendments.

       It was previously reported that the Bill to amend the Constitution, scheduled to be tabled in Parliament at the end of this month, will redefine "the federation" as one established under MA63 and not merely the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957.

       The bill will also seek to define Malaysia Day as Sept 16, 1963, besides amending Article 1(2) to restore Sabah and Sarawak's status as equal partners.

       Abang Johari noted that this was the second attempt to amend these Articles after a previous attempt to amend Article 1(2) by the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2019 failed to receive the required two-thirds support in Parliament.

       "The Sarawak government did not lend its support to the earlier amendment because in our view it was purely cosmetic and did not reflect the special status of Sabah and Sarawak as envisaged in MA63 and its annexed instruments," he said.

       He also said the proposed amendment to the definition of "natives" in Article 161A of the Constitution was also discussed during Friday's courtesy call.

       "With this (proposed) amendment, the power to decide which races in Sarawak shall be recognised as being indigenous to the state shall be determined by the state through state laws," he added.

       In addition, Abang Johari said the Federal Government's development allocation for Sarawak should reflect the state's position as an equal partner.

       He said the allocation of RM4.47bil for the state under the 12th Malaysia Plan's first rolling plan was still low and only represented 6.8% of total development expenditure.

       "It clearly does not reflect the needs of Sarawak considering its size and level of development, as well as its status as an equal partner (in) the formation of Malaysia," he said.

       He added that revenue sharing should take into consideration Sarawak's contribution to the Federal coffers, including revenue received from the state's natural resources and taxes derived from the state.