KUCHING, May 3: Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) needs to increase its representation in Parliament in order to safeguard the state’s rights according to the constitution.
This is in relation to Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) where it was agreed that Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore at the time occupy more than 33 per cent of total parliamentary seats as a protection to prevent the Malayan states from getting the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution or remove the three states’ safeguards at will.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) candidate for Bandar Kuching Kho Teck Wan told a press conference that currently Sarawak and Sabah only accounted for 25 per cent of the total 222 parliamentary seats, where Sarawak had 31 and Sabah 25.
“This is not enough to protect our constitutional safeguards from being overridden by the Malayan two-thirds majority.
“This Parliamentary Election (GE14) is the most important election for Sarawak because it is the only chance for us to build a stronger Sarawak, but we cannot do this without your votes,” she said this afternoon at the SUPP Pending Branch office here.
Kho said for Sarawak to have a say in Parliament, it must be represented by MPs from Sarawak-based parties who can defend Sarawak’s interests.
She stressed that no candidates from Malayan parties would be able to stand up loyally and truthfully in defending Sarawak’s interests as they were all answerable to their own party’s political masters in Malaya.
Kho quoted the late Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem as saying: “Who understands Sarawak matters better than Sarawakians themselves? As long as you receive orders from Kuala Lumpur you are not welcomed. Don’t listen to all these Peninsular Malaysia politicking. That is why I don’t want UMNO to come over to Sarawak or for that matter other political parties that originate from outside Sarawak. No UMNO, DAP, PKR and PAS.”
With that, Kho explained that more parliamentary representation for Sarawak should take into account not only the size of its population but also the size of the state and its potential in contributing to the national coffers.
“As your MP (if I win), I will table a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament to increase the parliamentary seats for Sarawak and Sabah following the original seat ratio set out in MA63.
“We have no place for the Malayans’ chauvinistic ideology and to risk breaking our unity and harmony in Sarawak,” she said. — DayakDaily
