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Ann Teo
KUCHING (Nov 11): Sarawak state polls should not be limited to Sarawak residents, said Sarawak Coalition for a Fair and Clean Choice (Bersih) leader Ann Teo in the debate on the definition of a ‘resident of the state’ eligible to be elected to the State Legislative Assembly (DUN).
“There is absolutely no logical reason to limit the rating of our DUN members to those born in Sarawak,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted about a proposed constitutional amendment affecting eligibility to be elected to the august House.
“Does being born in Sarawak mean that we are automatically endowed with the ability to be representatives of the people or their interests? A person’s geographic origin or place of birth and background do not define their ability to represent a voting community. “
“It is their ethics, principles, education, commitment to the common good and the manifesto of their party that allows them to represent their constituents,” Teoh emphasized.
“Therefore, if there are Western Malays and / or Sabahans who have become permanent residents in Sarawak, either by virtue of marriage or work, and if they are competent and committed to improving the situation of Sarawakians, why shouldn’t we allow them to represent the voters as well? ? “, Argument.
The Sarawak State Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2020, introduced yesterday by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, at the DUN, sought to define “resident in the state” and reduce the age for qualify for elections to the PARDO.
After the bill was introduced and debated, DUN President Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar ruled that the bill would be postponed as there were “anomalies” in its reference to the 1959 Immigration Act that they had to be clarified.
The amendment had sought to align the definition of ‘state resident’ in Article 16 of the Sarawak Constitution with Section 71 of the Immigration Law, which also refers to Section 66 of the same law, which establishes that a person You will be treated as a resident of an East Malaysian state if you have been a permanent resident for the previous two years.
Teo, who is a lawyer, said it would not make much of a difference if the state government dropped the addition of the definition of “state resident” to the Sarawak Constitution.
This, he said, was because a court of law called upon to interpret the phrase would still automatically consider the ordinary meaning of the word “resident” and would also be induced to interpret it in conjunction with and in light of Section 71 of the Act. immigration.
Even if the state government decided to leave it undefined, it was still uniform with other states, he argued.
“In general, however, add that it will provide more clarity to the Electoral Commission (EC) in the conduct of the elections, particularly for the nomination.”
“I think someone has forgotten that with regard to a candidate for Parliament or Dewan Rakyat there is no restriction that only a Sarawakian can be Calon or candidate in Sarawak.
“A Sarawakian can go to another state to compete for the parliamentary seat there,” Teo said, referring to article 47 of the Federal Constitution.
However, Teo said that it did not hurt to define the phrase ‘resident in the state’ in the Sarawak Constitution by referring to Section 71 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 because Section 71 and earlier sections of the Act (Part VII) were essentially drafted at the time of the formation of Malaysia and was part of the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 (MA63).
“And yes, Section 71 says ‘… a citizen will be treated as belonging to an East Malaysian state if (a) is or has been in the previous two years a permanent resident of the East Malaysian state,'” he said. .
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