No one should monopolise two-third Dewan seats
Published on: Monday, September 19, 2022
Kitingan said the restoration of 35pc parliamentary seats reflects the partnership in the establishment of Malaysia, which is a partnership between the three regions - the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.
THE Election Commission (EC) should accept the people’s aspirations by restoring a 35 per cent ratio for the overall number of parliamentary seats in East Malaysia, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.He said this is because it was one of the guarantees and promises when Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya jointly formed Malaysia as equal partners.
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“Not one region should have the power to wield two-thirds of Parliament seats. That is why I believe that the EC, as a wise and practical body, will accept this (proposal).
“I believe they will agree to this,” he told a press conference after launching the AirAsia Ride in Kota Kinabalu on Sept 12.
On Sept 9, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob gave his commitment to issues raised in Sabah and Sarawak, including the total number of representatives for both states in Parliament.
This comes after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili announced that the Special Council on the 1963 Malaysia Agreement had endorsed the move of restoring East Malaysia’s (Sabah and Sarawak) 35pc parliamentary seats quota in a meeting on Sept 8.
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Ongkili said the ultimate task of the MA63 Special Council now is to convince the EC to solve the issue.
In 1963, Sabah had 16 seats, while Sarawak with 24 and Singapore, 15, representing 35 per cent from the overall 159 parliamentary seats, and the remaining 65 per cent or 104 seats were in Malaya. Malaya did not possess the majority alone.
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“So when Singapore left Malaysia in 1965, the seats belonging to Singapore should be given to Sabah and Sarawak to meet the 35 per cent representation,” Ongkili stressed, adding the proposed restoration of seats had been endorsed by the Parliamentary Special Select Committee in 2012.
Based on the current calculation, of the 222 parliamentary seats, 166 or 75pc are in Peninsular Malaysia, while the remaining 25pc or 56 seats are for the Borneo states, with 31 seats in Sarawak and Sabah, 25.
Kitingan said the restoration of 35pc parliamentary seats reflects the partnership in the establishment of Malaysia, which is a partnership between the three regions - the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.
“Even though Sabah and Sarawak will only have 35pc of the parliamentary seats later, it is a recognition that without Sabah and Sarawak, there is no Malaysia.
“For that reason, we also hope that one day, the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister could come from Sabah or Sarawak...hopefully,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kitingan said he would defend his Keningau parliamentary seat if the constituents still want him (to contest the seat).
On the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Barisan Nasional (BN) cooperation in the 15th General Election, Jeffrey, who is also GRS Deputy Chairman, said there has been discussions between GRS and BN on “how we can work together...meaning for this election, we will strategise.”
“That is what we are working on,” he said.
On the number of seats his party Star is eyeing to contest, Jeffrey said Star is looking at additional seats and already proposed it to the GRS leadership.
On the Anti-Hopping Law, Kitingan said the Sabah Government has agreed to table a constitutional amendment Bill to adopt new laws to discourage lawmakers from switching parties at the next State Assembly sitting in November.
He said the State Government has decided to table the new laws at a scheduled sitting, and not a special sitting as previously reported.
“The Sabah Legislative Assembly will be tabling it during the coming sitting in November,” he said. Sabah is among three states — the other two being Selangor and Perak — that have openly pledged to take up the laws after federal anti-hopping laws were passed in Parliament in July.
Previously, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said his Cabinet agreed to the Bill to ensure political stability, and that there would be a special State Assembly sitting to table it.
“Party-hopping” is prevalent among politicians in Sabah, which famously resulted in Barisan Nasional (BN) forming the state government in 1994 through defections right after the general election.
More recently, defections also allowed Warisan to form the state government in 2018. On July 28, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment, which added stipulations forcing MPs to vacate their seat should they switch party membership.
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