KUCHING, Oct 13: The need for increased representation in parliament for Sarawak and Sabah have become increasingly evident, having their voices amplified in the national political arena.
It is crucial to foster an inclusive and equitable political landscape that accommodates the diverse needs of all Malaysian states and regions.
However, claims made by Rise of Social Efforts (ROSE) if taken seriously, would cause Sarawak and Sabah to remain stagnant especially in terms of development, as the allocation of funds by the federal government is related to the number of representations in the parliament.
Chief Political Secretary to the Premier of Sarawak, Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman in a statement said demands for one-third representation of both states is backed by historical basis, as reported in paragraph 236 (a) of the Cobbold Commission Report.
“When Singapore exited Malaysia, the seats that were held by Singapore was not proportionately divided between Sarawak and Sabah, tilting the power balance in Peninsular Malaysia’s favour, one-third representation for the two regions would restore this.
“While ROSE is making the argument that representation must be measured by population size, this exact argument could not be applied to Sarawak and Sabah considering its vast land size and scarce population,” he said.
Fazzrudin said restoring power balance is also essential in order to protect Sabah and Sarawak’s special rights as well as from any laws that are passed by the federation but are deemed unfavorable for both states after consulting respective Member of Parliament (MP).
This restoration of power adheres to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and is in tandem with the aspirations of the Sarawakians and Sabahans to be as developed as Peninsular Malaysia.
Additionally, he said that Sarawak and Sabah development should be undertaken based on its needs, taking into account the situation in the two regions including healthcare, education, infrastructure and others. – TVS
