By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 25: The proposal to increase parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak to meet the 35 per cent quota remains at the discussion stage, as it requires an amendment to the law on the composition of the Dewan Rakyat under Article 46 of the Federal Constitution, which in turn needs a two-thirds majority approval in the House.
In a TVS news, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said the matter is among several issues still unresolved under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) framework, alongside others that are being reviewed through established negotiation platforms.
He said the proposal falls under the category of unresolved issues, as electoral boundary reviews can only be carried out by the Election Commission after the completion of an eight-year cycle.
“The matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission in accordance with the Thirteenth Schedule and Article 113 of the Federal Constitution, and also requires an amendment to the law on the composition of the Dewan Rakyat under Article 46, which requires a two-thirds majority approval in the House,” he said during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Mustapha was responding to a question from Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan–Kota Belud) on the latest status of MA63 implementation and the demand for increased parliamentary representation for Sabah and Sarawak.
He also informed the House that out of 29 matters discussed under the official MA63 negotiation platform, 13 have been fully resolved so far.
“Another five have been partially or provisionally settled following decisions made at the MA63 Technical Committee Meeting on March 2,” he said.
Mustapha said four of the interim matters involve the increase in state public service staffing positions under Article 112 of the Federal Constitution, as well as issues related to health, education, and the Borneonisation of the federal public service in Sabah and Sarawak.
“The remaining 11 unresolved matters are being closely monitored by the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division (BHESS) as the joint secretariat involving all stakeholders at both federal and state levels,” he added. — DayakDaily
