KUCHING: Minister In the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has high hopes that the people of Sabah and Sarawak will support him on the proposed Bill to amend the Federal Constitution, with regard to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

He said the proposed Bill is scheduled for the second reading in the Dewan Rakyat this Tuesday after the first reading on Nov 3.

"The passing of the Bill could pave the way for more rights that had been eroded over the years, to be returned to the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak. This is one of my priorities at the moment," he said in a statement here today.

On Nov 3, the government tabled the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021 for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat which, among others, seeks to insert mention of the states of Malaya and the Borneo states. The Bill was tabled by Wan Junaidi.

The Bill proposes to amend Article 1 of the Federal Constitution by replacing Clause 2 to say the states of the Federation comprise:

(a) the states of Malaya, namely Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor and Terengganu; and

(b) the Borneo states, namely Sabah and Sarawak.

Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi said for the past two days, he has been busy meeting with constituents and members of the public in Sarawak to share the progress of key government transformation initiatives spearheaded by his ministry, and at the forefront is the proposed Bill.

He said the three other major government transformation initiatives undertaken by him and his ministry are the Transformation in Government Administration, Parliamentary reforms and Independence of the Judiciary.

Transformation in Government Administration includes anti-party hopping law, limiting the tenure of the Prime Minister to not more than 10 years, implementation of Undi 18, and automatic voters' registration, he said in the statement.

He said Parliamentary reforms, meanwhile, consist of Reintroducing the Parliamentary Services Act, amendments to the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952, and introducing the Members of Parliament Code of Ethics.

"Undi 18 and automatic registration of voters are expected to be implemented by Jan,1 2022, while the Bill on Parliamentary reforms is scheduled to be presented to the Speakers by mid-January of next year and tabled in Parliament in March. The Bill on anti-party hopping law is expected to be tabled by July next year," he said.

Part of an engagement programme organised by the Prime Minister's Department, the minister, who is also Santubong MP, visited five districts in the state - Linga, Sri Aman, Spaoh, Lundu and Sematan - to personally meet the rakyat in these areas, the statement read.

-- BERNAMA