By Editor NL,Shikin Louis

Copyright dayakdaily

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, Sept 26: Sarawak’s Head of State (TYT) Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has called out federal encroachment into State powers, stressing that Parliament has no authority to legislate on matters outside its jurisdiction.

He cited the Environmental Quality Act 1975 as a glaring example of unconstitutional overreach.

“In 1975, the Environmental Act was enacted. But environment is not in any of the three lists—Federal, State or Concurrent. If it is not in the lists, then it becomes a State matter.

“So how did they go ahead and enact the Environmental Act 1975? That means they were legislating on something that belongs to the State,” he said when delivering his Statesman Speech on ‘The Malaysia Agreement 1963: The Key to Federal Harmony’, which was broadcast live by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) on Facebook today.

Wan Junaidi said the federal government often defended its actions by citing international conventions and conferences, which only Putrajaya could attend on behalf of Malaysia. He pointed to the Paris Agreement 2015 as one such example.

“But did they get the permission from all the States? Environment belongs to the State, and yet they went ahead,” he said.

He stressed that under Article 77 of the Federal Constitution, any subject not enumerated in the lists automatically falls under State powers.

“Article 77 says that anything not in the Federal List is a State matter. It’s not our fault,” he said, noting that this is clearly written in the Constitution.

Wan Junaidi also flagged federal moves such as the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA74), the unilateral declaration of Bintulu as a federal port in 1979, and the takeover of tourism in 1994 as further breaches of State rights.

“They declared Bintulu district as a federal port area in 1979. But was the State’s consent ever obtained?

“Port matters are under the State List, and Article 76 of the Federal Constitution clearly sets out how permission must be sought. It cannot just be done sesuka hati (on a whim),” he stressed.

Wan Junaidi further pointed out how tourism, which was never included in any of the constitutional lists, was suddenly placed under the Federal List in 1994 through Act 885, just as the sector began to show vast economic potential.

He said this allowed Putrajaya to impose hotel levies and take control of an industry that should have remained under State jurisdiction.

“When they created laws to levy hotel guests, I said the money should be given back to the State. Federal can charge us administration fees because they created the law and collect the money, but the revenue should all go to the State,” he emphasised.

Acknowledging the federal government’s strong involvement in tourism through nationwide conventions and international agreements, Wan Junaidi said Sarawak is now seeking to move tourism into the Concurrent List, where both the Federal and State governments can create laws.

“Rightly, Sarawak wants tourism in the Concurrent List so that both sides can legislate. If the laws are overlapping, then the federal would prevail—but that is okay, at least we can make our own laws,” he said. – DayakDaily