Stop the blame game and try again

IT'S fair to say opinion in Sarawak is divided over Parliament's failure to pass the constitutional amendment seeking to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in Malaysia.

Reaction is also mixed on the decision of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) MPs not to vote on the Bill, with the result that it could not secure the two-thirds majority required to approve it.

To recap, the GPS lawmakers were among 59 MPs who abstained from voting. With 138 Pakatan Harapan MPs voting for the Bill, which was tabled by the Prime Minister for second reading on Tuesday (April 9), it fell short by 10 votes.

A lot has been said and continues to be said about the merits or lack thereof, depending on your political leaning or what you understand of the Malaysia Agreement 1963, of the proposed amendment to Article 1(2).

Politicians have also been apportioning blame for the Bill's failure, with one side calling it a missed opportunity, the other side denouncing it as merely cosmetic, and both sides accusing each other of insincerity.

But the question we must all face now is how do we move forward from here in our efforts to restore Sarawak's (and Sabah's) status and rights as equal partners.

One thing that emerged from the vote and its aftermath is that Sarawak's MPs are split along political lines on the proposed amendment. Nor did Sarawak and Sabah present a united front, as apparently all but one Sabahan MP present that night voted for the Bill.

Yet it's clear that the restoration of equal-partner status and rights is something that all Sarawakians and Sabahans want, regardless of political affiliation.

It's also a fact that Sarawak and Sabah need the support of peninsula MPs for any constitutional amendment, as both states don't have sufficient numbers for a two-thirds majority, either together or on their own.

On this note, it's encouraging that the government has not ruled out the possibility of tabling the amendment again. Likewise the discussions by the Cabinet's steering, technical and working committees on issues relating to MA63 will go on.

Surely it's in the interest of all for the amendment to Article 1(2) to be tabled again. After all, the Bill's failure on Tuesday essentially means that the 1976 amendment which downgraded Sarawak and Sabah to the 12th and 13th states remains in effect.

But for agreement to be reached on an amendment that will gain the support of at least two-thirds of parliamentarians across the political divide, all parties will have to start talking and listening to each other in good faith and goodwill.

So far it seems that people are talking at cross purposes, with one side saying the amendment is the first step in the process of restoring rights and the other side saying it is meaningless without being part of a whole package of amendments and return of state rights.

Both sides will have to find a way to arrive at common ground, and that means putting politics aside and being open to different arguments and opinions.

At the same time, the government has to do more to persuade Sarawakians of their sincerity in restoring state rights and status in accordance with MA63, as there is a lack of trust after those rights were eroded over the years and Sarawak left behind in development compared to the peninsula.

On our part, we should perhaps be willing to consider the idea that amending Article 1(2) is, as the government says, the first step which would restore Sarawak and Sabah as equal partners and a platform to keep pushing for a meaningful restoration of state rights.

This is what all of us want, so let's end the blame game and keep working towards a solution.