FMT:
One-third of seats for
Sabah, S’wak only after
GE16, says DPM:
Fadillah Yusof, a senior GPS leader, says the one-third seat demand cannot be implemented in time for the next general election.
He said multiple legal aspects needed to be studied before the relevant amendments can be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat and its implementation can only be finalised after GE16, Bernama reported.
“It can’t (be implemented in time for GE16),” the senior Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leader was quoted as saying.
“For now, we’re not setting any timeframe to implement this addition of seats. However, we’re giving time for the relevant authorities to discuss the matter from a legal perspective,” he said, referring to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, as well as the Sabah and Sarawak attorney-general’s departments.
“In the first quarter of next year, we will get a report from all three, which will be discussed by the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) implementation action council.”
Fadillah added that the Election Commission (EC) had completed a study on the addition of seats to Sarawak.
When Malaysia was formed in 1963, Malaya was allocated 105 of the 160 seats in the Dewan Rakyat (representing 65% of the voting power in the House), with Sarawak holding 24 seats, Sabah, 16, and Singapore, 15.
This denied Malaya the two-thirds majority required to amend the Federal Constitution. But after Singapore’s departure, its 15 seats were not redistributed to Sabah and Sarawak, causing the two Bornean states to lose their veto power.
Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg was previously reported to have said the allocation of one-third of Dewan Rakyat seats to the East Malaysian states would prevent the federal government from trying to nullify the MA63 provisions on its own.
The Dewan Rakyat presently comprises 222 members, with Sabah and Sarawak allocated 25 and 31 seats respectively, for a combined 25.2% share of voting power.
The lower house’s present make-up allows 148 of the 166 MPs from Peninsular Malaysia to push through constitutional amendments.
One third of seats violates the principle of democracy.
ReplyDeleteSabahans and Sarawakians will gain an A-Class vote, with the rest consigned to a diminished voice
Sanctity of an agreed & legalised doctrine violates the principle of democracy!
DeleteWow… demoNcratic fart mah.
What kind of bullshit Sanctity of an agreed & legalised doctrine that assigns 4x the weight of vote of a Kuching resident to elect an MP to a Penang resident's vote or PJ Utara resident's vote ?
DeleteI am well aware no country has ever achieved true 1 -person -1 vote representation, but 4 :1 is a bullshit weightage.
Bullshit sanctity?
DeleteHow about those coming out from the unspoken ketuanan narratives of malapprotionment of electorates as happened in Non dominated areas vis-a-vis melayu infested ones?
4:1 is kacang putih as compared with those that have been bastardized!
They r unconstitutional & none legalised!
Those demanded by the Sabah/Sarawak r constitutionalised under MA63.