Syukur alhamdullilah the revised Constitution of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which allows our young folks to vote when they are 18 years old as well as the tightened definition of “Sarawakian”, was tabled and passed in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.
I was well prepared to go all out to present a revised version of the amendment to Article 16 of the Sarawak Constitution to the DUN after the first attempt was deferred due to so-called anomalies detected in the initial bill which had also drawn all round criticism and accusations from the opposition bench.
As usual, representatives from Sarawak's Democratic Action Party (DAP) had gone for their political mileage by capitalising on was the oversight on our side and they had alleged that it was intentional for the ruling coalition to do so so that West Malaysians and Sabahans may be able to enter Sarawak to become state lawmakers. This is simply untrue and uncalled for.
Earlier on, I had introduced a bill that would define the term ‘resident in the state’ to prevent potential attempts by non- Sarawakians wannabe "YBs" and those who are not living in Sarawak permanently from seeking election to our DUN and so called claiming to be representing the people of Sarawak.
It was saddening for us to see that the critics had "spinned" the noble intention of our government and the true facts were somehow distorted by the opposition, making mlaicious allegations that we were opening the windows of opportunities for non-Sarawakians to come here and join the state elections.
The new version of the bill which was presented today was necessary to clear the air and to establish that there will be no confusion among Sarawakians as to the real objective of the proposed amendment to Article 16 of the State Constitution. With the strong support from fellow GPS YBs, the revised bill had remove all interpretative, ambiguities or uncertainties as to the real intent and objective of the propsed amendment.
It also states that "Therefore, Clause 2 (1)(c) of the bill provides a clear definition on the term ‘resident in the state’. Under the proposed amendment, only two categories of persons are qualified as ‘resident in the state’ namely (1) a citizen born in the state of Sarawak whose parents or either of them was also born in the state, and he is normally resident in the state, or (2) a citizen though not born in the state whose parents or either of them was born in the state, and he is normally resident in the state”.
The debate on this matter was indeed fiery because both sides were seen to be much better prepared but the good has prevail and the rest is history.
During the debate, I had highlighted DAP’s political ambitions where their supreme leader Lim Kit Siang had actually contested in so many different states in recent times including in Melaka moving on to Selangor then to Perak. Looking at this dismal record and the history of politics, it has always been them (DAP) who has been jumping from state to state.
We thank our DUN Speaker, Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar for reminding the august House that as the amendment to Article 16 of the Sarawak Constitution involved amending the Constitution, there was a need for 2/3 majority to pass the bill. That is why he did not call for the division of the house as only 9 of our lawmakers had expressed objection to the bill before the bill was duly passed.
Congratulations to all of our youths who are now eligible to exercise democratic rights to vote when they reach 18 years of age!
No comments:
Post a Comment