2021 amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia

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Constitution (Amendment) Act 2022
Coat of arms of Malaysia.svg
Parliament of Malaysia
Long title
  • A Bill intituled an Act to amend the Federal Constitution.
CitationAct A1642
Territorial extentMalaysia
Enacted byDewan Rakyat
Passed14 December 2021
Enacted byDewan Negara
Passed23 December 2021
Royal assent19 January 2022
Commenced11 February 2022
Legislative history
Bill introduced in the Dewan RakyatConstitution (Amendment) Bill 2021
Bill citationD.R 11/2021
Introduced byWan Junaidi bin Tuanku Jaafar
First reading3 November 2021
Second reading14 December 2021
Third reading14 December 2021
Bill introduced in the Dewan NegaraConstitution (Amendment) Bill 2021
First reading21 December 2021
Second reading23 December 2021
Third reading23 December 2021
Amends
Constitution of Malaysia
Related legislation
Constitution (Amendment) Act 1976
Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019
Summary
To restore the constitutional status of Sabah and Sarawak according to the Malaysia Agreement.
Status: In force

On 14 December 2021, Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021, which proposed to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Malaya in Malaysia, in line with MA63, passed in Malaysia Parliament House of Representatives.[1][2][3][4][5]

Two years after a failed attempt to amend the Constitution, on 16 September 2021, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob pledged to look into issues relating to Sabah and Sarawak via the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963, with negotiations being chaired by the Prime Minister, joined by the Chief Ministers of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as eight federal ministers.[6] On 19 October 2021, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Maximus Ongkili announced a Bill to be tabled in the coming Parliament sitting after the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963 agreed to Articles 1(2) and 160(2) of the Federal Constitution to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Peninsular Malaysia. The proposed law differs from the 2019 proposed amendments by the then Pakatan Harapan government, being tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Parliament) Wan Junaidi. Discussions on restoring Sabahans and Sarawakians' rights will continue in the meantime. The same meeting also saw the council agree to empower both the Sabah and Sarawah governments to issue deep fishing licences as opposed to the federal government currently.[7] The amendments were tabled on 3 November 2021, consisting of four changes, being restoring Sabah and Sarawak as "territories", defining Malaysia Day as the day when Sabah and Sarawak joined and changes to the definition of the Federation, and defining who are natives of Sabah and Sarawak.[8] On 14 December 2021, the proposed amendment was passed in the Parliament unanimously with 199 votes in favour, and 21 MPs absent from the 6-hour long debate.[9] On 6 January 2022, Minister Ongkili announced the setting up of a joint technical committee to study Sabah's proposal for increased annual grants in addition to a counteroffer from the Federal Government.[10] Meanwhile, the law came into force on 11 February 2022.[11]

See also[]


References[]

  1. ^ "Dewan Rakyat passes Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021". The Edge Markets. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Official Portal of The Parliament of Malaysia - Bills". www.parlimen.gov.my. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  3. ^ Yunus, Arfa (14 December 2021). "Dewan Rakyat approves constitution amendments to empower Sabah, Sarawak". New Straits Times. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  4. ^ "MA63 amendments passed". The Star. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  5. ^ "MA63: Minister seeks full support on proposed Bill to amend Malaysia's Federal Constitution". www.malaymail.com. 12 December 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  6. ^ "MA63: Govt to pay close attention to Sabah, Sarawak matters of interest — PM Ismail Sabri". The Edge. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  7. ^ Lee, Stephanie (19 October 2021). "Bill to return Sabah, Sarawak to equal constitutional status to be tabled soon, says Ongkili". The Star. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  8. ^ Razak, Radzi (3 November 2021). "Govt to table four constitutional amendments to restore Sabah and Sarawak's position". Malay Mail. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  9. ^ Zulkifli, Ahmad Mustakim (14 December 2021). "MPs unanimously vote for constitutional amendments to empower Sabah, Sarawak". MalaysiaNow. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  10. ^ Lee, Stephanie (6 January 2022). "Sabah's proposal to increase annual grants in MA63 committee meeting to be studied, says Ongkili". The Star. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Admendments to Federal Constitution come into force on Feb 11, says Wan Junaidi". The Star. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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