By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Sept 12: The federal government has agreed in principle to consider increasing the number of parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak, but the proposal remains subject to further legal deliberations and negotiations.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof explained that the issue was one of four main agenda items discussed at the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Implementation Action Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and hosted by Sarawak today, which was also attended by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and federal as well as state ministers.
“The federal government has agreed to consider an increase in the number of Dewan Rakyat seats for Sabah and Sarawak. However, this requires further details and discussions from a legal standpoint,” according to a statement released after the meeting.
Fadillah, who spoke at a press conference earlier, said legal differences remain between the Federal Attorney-General (AG) and the State Attorneys-General of Sabah and Sarawak on the matter.
“In principle, the Prime Minister has agreed this can be considered, but it is subject to further negotiations and detailed legal discussions,” he stressed.
Asked whether the proposal must first be tabled in the State Legislative Assemblies (DUN), Fadillah explained that a policy decision must be established before any legislative steps can be taken.
“This is still at the stage of obtaining a policy decision. Only once that is established will we know the direction. If the decision is for an increase, the next question will be how many seats. That has yet to be finalised,” he said.
He added that once a policy decision is made, the Election Commission (EC) will be responsible for conducting a delineation study, including determining the number and location of new seats.
On whether disagreements between the AG and SAG involve amendments at the federal or state levels, Fadillah clarified that parliamentary constituencies fall under the Federal Constitution and must therefore be decided in Parliament.
“Any decision on parliamentary constituencies must go through Parliament. If it involves adopting resolutions passed by the State Legislative Assemblies (DUN), a simple majority is sufficient.
“However, if it requires amending the Federal Constitution to increase parliamentary seats, then a two-thirds majority is needed,” he pointed out.
Apart from parliamentary seats, Fadillah said the Council also deliberated on three other agenda items: tourism, judicial appointments in Sabah and Sarawak, and environmental management.
Progress was achieved on scheduled waste management and judicial consultation procedures, while discussions on tourism matters will continue at the technical level.
He explained that when the Federal Constitution was first drafted, tourism was not placed under any of the three lists, meaning it was originally a residual matter that should have been under state jurisdiction.
“However, in 1992, tourism was introduced into the Federal List. The suggestion now is to move certain aspects of tourism into the Concurrent List so that both the federal and state governments can have a role,” he said.
He added that since tourism involves all states in Malaysia, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) must engage with every state government before a final decision is reached.
Also present at the press conference were Minister of National Unity Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang; Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, Datuk Ewon Benedick; and Secretary of Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division under Prime Minister’s Department, Mohd Saiful Sungkih Abdullah. – DayakDaily
