By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Sept 9: The preliminary agreement of the Special Council on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to allow the Borneo States of Sarawak and Sabah to hold 35 per cent of parliamentary seats is a positive response to the demand of Sarawakians.
Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said it is one of the advances made by the Sarawak government in its efforts to regain the lost rights enshrined under MA63.
He told DayakDaily that this is part of the follow-through of the effort of MA63 and the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report being annexed in the Malaysian Constitution tabled by de-facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in Parliament last year.
The effort will not stop here. Dr Sim, also Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president, said much needed to be done, including negotiating the devolution of power in health and education from the Federal government to Sarawak.
“People of Sarawak would like us to restore all our rights (the spirit of MA63 and IGC) that have been eroded over the years. We have much more to do, such as health and education autonomy,” said Dr Sim.
He expressed appreciation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri and the Federal Cabinet for their willingness to make progress in the negotiation to return the lost rights to the Borneo States, contrary to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, which chose to take court action against Sarawak.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili announced yesterday that the fifth meeting of the Special Council, which was chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in Putrajaya, had agreed to honour the MA63 and IGC reports by allowing Sarawak and Sabah to hold 35 per cent of the parliamentary seats.
Ongkilil pointed out that more engagements will be required about the issue, especially among serving Borneo legislators and legal practitioners.
Currently, Peninsular Malaysian states hold a total of 166 seats (75 per cent), while Sarawak (31 seats) and Sabah (25) only make up the rest of 56 seats out of the total 222 seats.
Ongkili said lawmakers from Sabah and Sarawak have been demanding a review to restore one-third of the country’s total parliamentary seats.
In 1963, Sabah had 16 seats, Sarawak (24) and Singapore (15), representing 35 per cent of the overall 159 parliamentary seats, while the remaining 65 per cent or 104 seats were Malaya’s.
When Singapore left Malaysia in 1965, the seats belonging to Singapore should have been given to Sabah and Sarawak to meet the 35 per cent representation, but Peninsular Malaysia claimed all the seats. — DayakDaily
