KUCHING, Nov 11 — Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman believes that there is a need to understand the spirit behind the Constitution of State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2020.
He said the definition of ‘resident in the state’ needed to be clearer so that Sarawak’s rights would be protected.
“Before this, anyone living in Sarawak, even for just three weeks, is eligible to be a candidate for any election.
“We do not want just anyone who has been living in Sarawak for a few weeks and has an address in Sarawak to immediately be eligible as a candidate for an election. This is the spirit behind the Constitution of State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill 2020,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Fazzrudin claimed that the Opposition was trying to ‘twist the spirit’ behind the amendment by saying that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government was allowing outsiders who had resided in Sarawak for two years, to be eligible as an election candidates.
“The amendment qualifies a ‘resident of Sarawak’ as defined in Section 71 of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
“In fact Section 71, if read fully, states ‘two years plus three years’, making it five years (to qualify as a resident of Sarawak),” he said, adding that GPS had always been consistent in ensuring that Sarawak’s rights would be protected.
However, he said due to definitions that led to confusion or anomaly, the DUN Sarawak Speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar had postponed the bill amendment. — Borneo Post Online
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