Amendments to Federal Constitution Bill must be mandatorily referred to Special Parliamentary Select Committee – Madius

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 17): Every bill to amend the Federal Constitution should be mandatorily referred to the Special Parliamentary Select Committee (SPSC) after its first reading, to allow maximum refinement through engagement with all stakeholders.

This proposal was put forward by Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau (UPKO – Tuaran) while debating the Constitutional (Amendment) Act 2024 during the Parliament session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He stated that this process should be finalised not only to avoid repeated amendments to the same provisions or clauses but also to ensure that each amendment adheres to legal requirements and aligns with various agreements, particularly the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the assurances given during the formation of Malaysia.

“Since the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the Federal Constitution has been amended 58 times.

“These frequent amendments were often done hastily and reactively, which has affected other laws, leading to further amendments being required.

“For example, Clause 2 of Article 1 of the Federal Constitution, regarding the definition of the country of Malaysia, was amended twice in 1976 and then reverted to its original form in 2022 to comply with the Malaysia Agreement 1963,” he said.

Madius emphasised that, as members of parliament who have sworn to uphold the Federal Constitution, they are responsible for protecting it.

Therefore, he urged that any amendment to the Federal Constitution should be done with care.

“Another example is the amendment to Article 122, which concerns the appointment of High Court judges in Sabah and Sarawak, amended in 1994 without consulting the governments of Sabah and Sarawak.

“Currently, the status of this amendment remains unclear. Is it valid or not? As a five-term MP, I have repeatedly championed this issue, but the former Minister of Law said that the validity of the amendment should be determined by the courts.

“Why must the courts be consulted when we are the highest institution in the country? If there is a mistake, it must be corrected. This is why every constitutional amendment should be referred to the SPSC,” said the Honorary President of the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO).

Commenting on the proposed amendments to the Bill, Madius expressed his general support.

“Today, we are fighting for women’s rights, where Malaysian women married to foreigners and whose children are born overseas will automatically become Malaysian citizens. We support this amendment.

“However, for foreign women married to Malaysian men, they are required to renounce their original citizenship to adopt their husband’s nationality in Malaysia because the country does not allow dual citizenship.

“However, according to this law, if their marriage is dissolved or if they divorce within two years, the foreign woman’s citizenship in Malaysia will be revoked.

“This means the woman will become stateless. When we are fighting for women’s rights in this Bill, we should also address such issues, but we are not. This is what happens when we make amendments hastily.

“In this regard, I once again urge fellow MPs to support that any future amendment to the Federal Constitution must be mandatorily referred to the SPSC, which should consist of multi-party members of Parliament tasked with conducting stakeholder engagement and hearing opinions from NGOs, civil society, academics and the general public,” added the former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.