Sabah assemblymen motion for English to be the second official language, urge IGC formation
KOTA KINABALU - Two Sabah Pakatan Harapan (PH) assemblymen brought forward the motions to make English the second official language in Sabah and urge the reestablishment of the Malaysia Agreement, Inter-Government Committee (IGC) at the upcoming state assembly.
Kadamaian assemblyman Datuk Ewon Benedick and Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe in a joint statement said the motions were brought forward to the state assembly speaker today for the assembly which will take place between July 18 and 21.
"The first motion is for Sabah assemblyman to make English the second official language in the state.
"We believe this motion is important not only because it relates to the 1963 Malaysian Agreement (MA63) and 1962 IGC Report, but to make Sabah more competitive and progressive through the mastery of the English language," he said.
The explanation for the second motion was for Sabah Assemblymen to be determined and re-establish the IGC to study the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement as it was proposed.
"For every ten years and push for Sabahan rights and implementation of rights and importance as what is stated in the 1962 IGC Report and MA63.
"We believe that the rule must be made by Assemblymen to defend the rights and importance of Sabah as stated in MA63," he said.
The other Assemblyman said this issue was seen as the main issue for the Sabah people following multiple views regarding the issues involving MA63 including the suggestion to have a new Malaysia Agreement.
"We are taking a serious stand that there is no need to have a new Malaysia Agreement however MA63 needs to be implemented and Sabah's rights must be fulfilled.
"As a representative chosen by the people, we are not hesitant to represent the people taking legal actions relating to Sabah rights in MA63 and the Federal Constitution, our filing of a preliminary suit relating to Article 112 of the Federal Constitution, which is to demand the implementation of the repayment of 40 per cent of federal revenue in Sabah," he said.
