No Consensus From Ministers Ma63 Amendments Face Another Setback

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Efforts to amend provisions of the Federal Constitution relating to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 faced yet another setback.
Previously, the government decided to pause the constitutional changes where it will table the amendments for the first reading tomorrow, but it postponed the second reading to a later date.
However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar revealed that the tabling for the first reading tomorrow will also not take place.
“Following an engagement session during a pre-council meeting yesterday, attended by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, we could not reach a consensus on the proposed amendments to some of the relevant articles in the Federal Constitution,” Wan Junaidi said in a statement.
He said a new date for the tabling would be determined after a briefing by Attorney-General Idrus Harun on Oct 29.
Wan Junaidi said the postponement was aimed at ensuring that the amendments would have full support from all the ministers.
The first draft of the amendments will, among others, restore the Borneo states to equal standing with the peninsular states.
It will also seek to grant bumiputera status to Sarawakian children from a mixed parentage, where only one parent is a native.
Under the current arrangement, both parents must be native for the child to also be considered a native, giving rise to a mountain of legal battles where children face difficulty inheriting land from their native parent.
The original plan was for the amendments to be tabled tomorrow and then debated for the second reading on Oct 28.
There is now no timeline for the amendments until after the briefing by the attorney-general. - Mkini

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