Constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari has refuted arguments by Sarawak politicians that the state is immune to the newly-passed National Security Council (NSC) Bill and possibly other legislation as its special rights under the Malaysia Agreement guarantee its autonomy.

He said that constitutionally speaking, powers allowed to the federal government in the Federal Constitution cannot be blocked by the states.

"As for the Acts of Parliament like the NSC, there is no bar to stop Parliament to enact such laws," he told Malaysiakini .

Bad law or not, Sarawak will still have to submit to the security legislation, he said.

Abdul Aziz said if the party concerned feels this is not in line with what they are claiming, they can take the matter to court and ask for a judicial interpretation.

But the former law lecturer argued that the spirit of the principles stipulated in the Malaysia Agreement is already spelt out in the letter of the Federal Constitution

"In any case, generally what was agreed in the formation of Malaysia is all enshrined in the Federal Constitution," explained Abdul Aziz.

"If there are any confusion or implied principles which are not clear, it is better to take it to the courts to be decided," he said.

Misreading agreement

Abdul Aziz also lashed out at the Sarawak politicians who had claimed that the state is immune to parliamentary laws, noting that they may have misread what the Malaysia Agreement actually stipulated.

"The way the guy speaks was as if Sarawak was a still a sovereign state, which I think is not the case," Abdul Aziz said.

He reasoned that Sarawak is for now just a state within the federation of Malaysia, and just like other states her rights are spelt out in the constitution, no more and no less.

"It is true that both Sabah and Sarawak enjoy special status or more autonomy compared to the original 11 member states from the peninsula, but they are still member states and not a sovereign nation that enjoys a status equal to the federation," he argued.

As such, Sarawak falls under the jurisdiction of federal powers and must follow the laws as passed by Parliament, of which its elected representative are also members.

Regardless, he conceded the final remedy lies in the interpretation of the courts, the body empowered by the constitution to adjudicate such matters.

Abdul Aziz was commenting on recent claims by Sarawak politicians that the NSC and other laws that supposedly violate the special "rights" of the state cannot be implemented locally, unless amendments are made to streamline it with the provisions of the Malaysia Agreement which they argue guaranteed the state's autonomy.

As BN’s ruling party Umno continues to struggle with losing seats to the opposition in the peninsula, politicians from the pact's "fixed deposit" state of Sarawak have been more vocal of late.

Observers believe this is due to realisation that their parliamentary seats can be wielded en bloc to gain leverage, for example to bargain for greater economic and political autonomy.