New date to be fixed for tabling of MA63 bill

The Cabinet has decided to set another date for the tabling of the bill to amend several provisions in the Federal Constitution relating to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said the postponement was triggered as a consensus could not be reached on the proposed amendments to some of the relevant articles in the Federal Constitution during an engagement session yesterday, which was also attended by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The bill was initially scheduled to be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow followed by the second reading on Oct 28 (2021).

Wan Junaidi in a statement today said the new date for the first reading of the bill would be determined after a briefing by the attorney-general (AG) on the matter during the Cabinet meeting this Friday.

“Although the Cabinet has in principle agreed to the proposed bill, there are several ministers who are seeking further clarification on the amendments. That is why the Cabinet has decided that it would be best to set a new date to table the bill after the briefing by the AG,” he said.

Wan Junaidi said the decision was made to ensure that the bill would obtain full support from all the ministers.