2021 amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia

Constitution (Amendment) Act 2022
Parliament of Malaysia
Long title An Act to amend the Federal Constitution.
Citation	Act A1642
Territorial extent	Malaysia
Passed by	Dewan Rakyat
Passed	14 December 2021
Passed by	Dewan Negara
Passed	23 December 2021
Royal assent	19 January 2022
Commenced	11 February 2022
Legislative history
First chamber: Dewan Rakyat
Bill title	Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021
Bill citation	D.R 11/2021
Introduced by	Wan Junaidi bin Tuanku Jaafar
First reading	3 November 2021
Second reading	14 December 2021
Third reading	14 December 2021
Second chamber: Dewan Negara
Bill title	Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021
First reading	21 December 2021
Second reading	23 December 2021
Third reading	23 December 2021
Amends
Constitution of Malaysia
Related legislation
Constitution (Amendment) Act 1976 Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019
Summary
To restore the constitutional status of Sabah and Sarawak according to the Malaysia Agreement.
Status: In force

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Prehistoric Malaysia Paleolithic  Lenggong Valley c. 2.000.0000 BCE  Mansuli Valley 235,000 BCE Mesolithic  Niah cultures 65,000–40,000 BCE Neolithic  Bewah man/woman 16,000 BCE  Perak man/woman 11,000–200 BCE  Neolithic Klang 500 – 200 BCE
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Colonial era Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Acehnese conquest of Perak 1620 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Pahang Kingdom 1770–1881 Straits Settlements 1786–1946 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 Burney Treaty 1826 Naning War 1831–1832 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Separation of Perlis from Kedah 1843 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 Pahang Civil War 1857–1863 Larut Wars 1861–1874 Klang War 1867–1874 Pangkor Treaty 1874 Perak War 1875–1876 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 Jementah Civil War 1879 North Borneo 1882–1946 Pahang Uprising 1891–1895 Mat Salleh Rebellion 1894–1905 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Anglo-Siamese Treaty 1909 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946 Battle of Penang 1914 Kelantan rebellion 1915
World War II Japanese occupation of Malaya / Borneo 1941–1945 Malayan campaign 1941–1942 Bornean Campaign 1941–1942 Battle of Muar 1942 Parit Sulong Massacre 1942 Battle of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Syburi 1942 Sandakan Death Marches 1942–1945 Si Rat Malai 1943–1945 Jesselton revolt 1943–1944
Formative era BMA of Malaya/Borneo 1945–1946 Crown Colony of N. Borneo 1946–1963 Crown Colony of Sarawak 1946–1963 Anti-cession movement 1946–1963 Malayan Union 1946–1948 Federation of Malaya 1948–1963 Sungai Siput incident 1948 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Batang Kali massacre 1948 Bukit Kepong incident 1950 Baling Talks 1955 Malayan Independence 1957 Singapore Self-governance 1959 ISA 1960 1960–2012 Communist insurgency in Sarawak 1962–1990 North Borneo Self-governance 1963 Konfrontasi 1963–1966 Sarawak Self-governance 1963 Formation of Malaysia 1963 Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 ASEAN Declaration 1967 Second communist insurgency 1968–1989 13 May incident 1969 National Operations Council 1969–1971 Declaration of Rukun Negara 1970 New Economic Policy 1971–1990 Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989
Barisan Nasional era Federal Territory of KL 1974 1977 Kelantan Emergency 1977 Pedra Branca dispute 1979–2008 South China Sea dispute (Spratly) 1980–present Federal Territory of Labuan 1984 Memali incident 1985 Operation Lalang 1987 Constitutional crisis 1987–1988 Royal Immunity Amendments 1993 Financial crisis 1997–1998 Reformasi Movement 1998–2022 1MDB scandal 2015–present
Multi-party era Pakatan Harapan takeover 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–present Political crisis 2020–2022 Bornean Amendment 2021–2023 Green Wave 2022-present
Incidents Brunei revolt 1962–1966 North Borneo dispute (Philippine militant attacks) 1962–present Singapore race riots 1964 Brunei's Limbang claim 1967–2009 Penang Hartal riot 1967 13 May Incident 1969 Ligitan and Sipadan dispute 1969–2002 Kuala Lumpur flash floods 1971 Malaysian haze crisis 1972–present AIA building hostage crisis 1975 National Monument bombing 1975 Campbell Shopping Complex fire 1976 Sabah Air GAF Nomad crash 1976 Japan Airlines Flight 715 incident 1977 MH653 incident 1977 Dawn Raid 1981 1985 Lahad Datu ambush 1985 Memali Incident 1985 Sabah Emergency 1986 Ming Court Affair 1987 Penang terminal bridge collapse 1988 Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire 1989 Bright Sparklers disaster 1991 Highland Towers collapse 1993 Genting landslide 1995 MH2133 incident 1995 Pos Dipang mudflow 1996 Tropical Storm Greg 1996 1998–1999 Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak 1998–1999 Al-Ma'unah incident 2000 Sauk Siege 2000 2001 Kampung Medan riots 2001 2002 Taman Hillview landslide 2002 Tsunami in Malaysia 2004 2006–2007 Southeast Asian floods 2006–2007 Bukit Gantang bus crash 2007 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide 2008 2009 swine flu pandemic in Malaysia 2009 Attacks against places of worship 2010 Cameron Highlands bus crash 2010 Hulu Langat landslide 2011 Genting Highlands bus crash 2013 MH370 incident 2014 MH17 incident 2014 2014–15 Malaysia floods 2014–2015 Sabah earthquake 2015 2015 Plaza Low Yat riot 2015 Movida Bar grenade attack 2016 Kim Jong-nam's Assassination 2017 Darul Quran madrasa fire 2017 2018 Subang Temple riot 2018 2020-21 Malaysia floods 2021 LRT train collision 2021 2021-22 Malaysia floods 2021–2022 2022 Batang Kali landslide 2022 2023 Elmina plane crash 2023 2024 Lumut helicopters crash 2024
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The Constitution (Amendment) Act 2022 amended the Constitution of Malaysia to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Malaya in Malaysia. This was intended to give effect to the Malaysia agreement of 1963 (also referred to as MA63). It was passed unanimously by the Dewan Rakyat (the elected house of the Parliament of Malaysia) on 14 December 2021 and came into effect after receiving royal assent on 11 February 2022.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

In 2019, the then Pakatan Harapan federal government had proposed a similar amendment to the Constitution, which would have amended Article 1(2) to restore its 1963 wording defining Sabah and Sarawak as constituent territories of Malaysia. While supported by a majority of MPs, the amendment failed to achieve the 2/3 majority required to pass a constitutional amendment. Two years later after the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced on 16 September 2021 he was looking into issues relating to Sabah and Sarawak via the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963. As Prime Minister, Ismail chaired the negotiations, joined by the Chief Ministers of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as eight federal ministers.^[6]

Subsequently on 19 October 2021, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Maximus Ongkili announced a bill to be tabled in the coming Parliament sitting after the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963 agreed to Articles 1(2) and 160(2) of the Federal Constitution to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Peninsular Malaysia. The same meeting also saw the council agree to empower both the Sabah and Sarawah governments to issue deep fishing licences as opposed to the federal government currently.^[7]

The amendments were eventually tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Parliament) Wan Junaidi on 3 November 2021.^[8] They consisted of four changes:^[9]

• amending Article 1(2) to restore the definition of Sabah and Sarawak as constituent "territories" of Malaysia
• adding to Article 160(2) a formal definition of Malaysia Day as the day when Sabah and Sarawak joined the Federation
• amending in Article 160(2) the definition of the Federation
• amending in Article 161A the definition of natives of Sabah and Sarawak

The amendments to Article 161A included a repeal of Article 161A(7) which provided for a specific federally-imposed definition of a native of Sarawak. This gave the Sarawak state government autonomy to define who could be considered a native of Sarawak instead.^[9] The Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed this amendment in particular, calling it a "dream come true" because it would allow the Sarawak state government to include children of mixed marriages and of native tribes not listed in Article 161A(7) in the definition of a Sarawak native. According to the Chamber, the legal ramifications of the status quo were: "Under the Sarawak Land Code, dealings in native lands, such as transfers, between a native parent and his or her child of mixed marriage are prohibited because the child is not considered a native under the law."^[10]

On 14 December 2021, after 6 hours of debate, the proposed amendment was passed in the Dewan Rakyat unanimously with 199 votes in favour, and 21 MPs not voting.^[11] On 6 January 2022, Minister Ongkili announced the setting up of a joint technical committee to study Sabah's proposal for increased annual grants in addition to a counteroffer from the Federal Government.^[12] Meanwhile, the law came into force on 11 February 2022.^[13]

On 15 February 2022, days after the amendments came into force, the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly passed amendments to its state constitution that restyled the state's head of government from Chief Minister to Premier. Sarawak state Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah who tabled the bill said that the change was intended to reflect Sarawak's status as a province of Malaysia co-equal in status to Malaya and Sabah, in line with the amendments to the federal constitution that had recently come into effect.^[9]

See also

• List of amendments to the Constitution of Malaysia

References