Sarawak has submitted proposal on increasing MPs tally to 35pct

The Sarawak government has submitted its proposal for the number of MPs from the region to be increased to 35 percent of the members of the Dewan Rakyat.

Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the proposal had been submitted to Putrajaya and had been followed up with several meetings.

This included two meetings by a working committee to discuss legislative amendments related to the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) - which were held at the Sarawak Federal Secretary Office (FSO) on Aug 10 and the Sabah FSO on Oct 30.

“Any decision made at the working committee level will be brought up to the technical committee meeting and subsequently to the Majlis Tindakan Pelaksanaan Perjanjian Malaysia 1963, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim), for the committee’s endorsement,” she said.

She was replying to a supplementary question from Christopher Gira Sambang (Gabungan Parti Sarawak-Tamin) at the state assembly sitting today.

Sharifah Hasidah (above) said the committee’s endorsement would then pave the way for Article 46 of the Federal Constitution, which touches on the composition of the Dewan Rakyat members, to be amended.

She also said the amendment would ensure a balanced representation in the Dewan Rakyat, in accordance with the spirit and intention of the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

Currently, 31 MPs or nearly 14 percent of the 222 Dewan Rakyat members are from Sarawak.

- Bernama