THE process of redemption to restore the rights of Sabah and Sarawak under the Federal Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 must be viewed as urgent.
However, nobody familiar with the plethora and complexity of the issues will deny that reform will be a long-drawn affair and will encompass territorial, fiscal, religious, cultural, language and immigration issues. Concerns about native land, status of native courts and the special but forgotten position of the natives under Article 153 will also require attention.
In April 2019, a partial reform proposal was made by the then Federal Government but it failed to muster the required two-thirds majority in Parliament. An attempt is being made again by the present government and Law Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar deserves congratulations for this