By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Nov 12: When the Federal government agrees to Sarawak and Sabah’s demand for 35 per cent of parliamentary seats, the next step will be to amend Article 46 of the Federal Constitution.
Article 46 specifies the number of seats for each State in Malaysia.
This was revealed by Sarawak Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali when responding to Tupong assemblyman Dato Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman’s query during the question-and-answer session in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) sitting here today.
“Once this amendment is implemented, the Election Commission (EC) will need to conduct a detailed study in accordance with Article 113 of the Federal Constitution for the purpose of redelineation,” she said.
She further said that during the recent Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) meeting on Sept 12, 2024, it was informed that the Attorney General’s Chambers needs to review this matter from a legal standpoint.
“Following this, discussions will be held again between the Attorney General’s Chambers and the State Attorney General’s Offices of Sarawak and Sabah to examine the interpretation of the term ‘safeguard’ (constitutional safeguards) for Sarawak and Sabah as contained in the Cobbold Commission Report and the 1962 Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report, from a legal perspective.
“The Sarawak government will remain committed to this demand to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Sarawak for fairer representation in the Dewan Rakyat,” she added.
On Nov 10, Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof said that the attorney generals from the federal, Sarawak and Sabah governments will carry out legislative assessment on the demand for one-third of parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak.
They are expected to negotiate and submit a report before MTPMA63 convenes its next meeting in the first quarter of next year. — DayakDaily
