Make ‘Plan B’ if demand for Dewan seats not met, says Sabah man

 

Political leaders in Sabah and Sarawak have called for one-third of Dewan Rakyat seats to be allocated to East Malaysia. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Political leaders in Sabah and Sarawak have been urged to come up with an alternative plan in case Putrajaya snubs their demand for one-third of parliamentary seats to be allocated to East Malaysia.

I think Sabah and Sarawak should actively discuss a Plan B. If our demand is not met, we must already know what’s our next step,

 said Kenny Chua, deputy president of Parti Solidariti Tanahairku (STAR), the Borneo Post reported.

The 

next step

 must be aligned with the aspirations of East Malaysians, he said. Sabah and Sarawak leaders cannot assume that the federal government will in future hand them one-third of the decision-making power in the Dewan Rakyat.

He agreed with the view of Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg that East Malaysia must hold 35% of seats to guard against attempts to amend the Federal Constitution to revoke the provisions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Kenny Chua.

Chua said that East Malaysians, as a minority in Parliament, must seriously take heed of the possibility of MA63 being revoked. 

We can either wait until god knows when our demands will be met or we can start exploring ways how we can be a few steps ahead,

 he was quoted as saying.

When Malaysia was formed in 1963, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore were allocated a total of 55 seats (or 34.5%) in the 159-member Dewan Rakyat. Singapore’s provision of 15 seats was eliminated in 1965 when the republic left Malaysia, leaving the Borneo states with a 27% share of the 144-seat house.

In 1973, when the Dewan Rakyat was expanded to 154 members, the extra seats were allocated to West Malaysian states and the federal territory while Sabah and Sarawak retained their 16 and 24 seats respectively (or 25.9%).

The current Dewan Rakyat comprises 222 members, with Sabah allocated 25 seats and Sarawak 31, for a combined 25.2% share.

In addition to the calls from Abang Johari and other political leaders for control of one-third of Dewan Rakyat seats, activist groups have backed a claim for East Malaysian control of more than one-third seats in the Senate (Dewan Negara).

The activists said the two states would then have veto power to block  any unilateral constitutional amendments by Peninsular Malaysia leaders. However, 11 organisations rejected the proposal earlier today, describing it as 

disingenuous

 and 

an insult to East Malaysians

- FMT