By Christopher Lidom
KUCHING, Nov 14: Sarawak’s demand for one-third of parliamentary seats was enshrined and guaranteed during the establishment of Malaysia through Cobbold Commission Report and Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report, says Tupong assemblyman Datuk Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman.
Fazzrudin said this means that what has been written and sealed in the IGC Report, in this case, the proportion of Parliamentary seats, must be implemented.
“This right is one of the constitutional safeguards to protect Sarawak’s rights and privileges,” he said when debating the Sarawak Budget 2025 during the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) sitting here today.
He said the safeguard concept in the Cobbold Commission Report, IGC and Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and there has been example of cases involving the matter.
According to him, the matter has been confirmed by the judiciary through decisions such as by former chief judge Tun Zaki Azmi in his decision in the case of Datuk Tufail Bin Mahmud v Ting Chek Sii (2009) in the Federal Court.
He quoted Tufail saying that “Safeguards and assurances provided to Sarawak (in this case, lawyers) were critical and pivotal to secure the participation of Sarawak in the formation of Malaysia.
“The Cobbold Commission was created to ascertain the views of the people of the Borneo States. The report showed that the people had fears of substitution of one colonisation with another; fear of being taken over by the then Federation of Malaya; fears of the submersion of the individualities of North Borneo and Sarawak within the then Federation of Malaya,” he said, adding that two other cases as examples, namely Fun Fong Chen v Malaysia Government (2012), and Robert Linggi v Malaysia Government.
He also emphasised that the Sarawak government’s claim for one-third of parliamentary seats not only has a historical and legal basis, but also has precedent cases that clearly mention constitutional safeguards in the Cobbold Commission Report, IGC Report and MA63.
“It is not only needs to be respected and understood but must be implemented by the federal government in good faith, without any cover or motive to negate the rights and privileges of Sarawak,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fazzrudin said that Sarawak is aware that to ensure fair representation, areas should be divided by population density.
However, he said, it is unfair to to people in low density areas such as in Baram and Belaga to not be represented. — DayakDaily
