KOTA KINABALU: The implementation of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) Act 2024 should be rejected outright, as deferring it alone is insufficient and unconstitutional, says a lawmaker.
Kapayan assemblyman Chin Tek Ming said the issue is constitutional, not administrative.
He referred to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor's recent announcement that the Act’s enforcement in Sabah would be deferred pending assurances on immigration autonomy.
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"Sabah’s immigration autonomy is a constitutional guarantee under Article 161E(4) and Article 9(3) of the Federal Constitution, read together with the Malaysia Agreement 1963. It is not a concession from the Federal Government," Chin said in a statement on Friday (May 15).
Chin, who is from Parti Warisan, warned that implementing the Act without debate or adoption in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly would breach constitutional safeguards.
"A law implemented in violation of the Constitution cannot be legitimised through negotiations or assurances. It is void ab initio (invalid from the outset)," he said.
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He also raised concerns that the Act's structure risks federal usurpation of Sabah’s powers, as ALPS enforcement and command structures remain answerable to Putrajaya.
"If operations in Sabah ultimately function through a federal chain of command, the state's autonomy will be diluted through administrative design," he said.
Chin said that Sabah’s rights under MA63 and the Federal Constitution are binding legal guarantees, not subjects of political compromise.
"This is not a matter of bargaining or negotiation. It is a matter of constitutional legality.
"Sabah must defend its position firmly and without compromise," he said.
