PENAMPANG, Aug 12 — United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) Putatan division chief Jason Lee has backed the party president’s call for Sabah and Sarawak to be allocated no less than one-third of parliamentary seats as a constitutional safeguard.

He said the demand was also in line with the original spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

“I support this demand. To me, one-third of the seats is not merely a question of numbers. It is about the strength of our voice and protecting the interests of Sabah and Sarawak within the Federation,” said Jason, who was newly elected to Upko’s Supreme Council at the party’s 17th Triennial Delegates Conference held on Monday at the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) near here.

“We want to ensure that when matters affecting Sabah are discussed at the federal level, Sabah’s voice is not a small one that can easily be ignored.

“We want Sabah’s voice to carry strength commensurate with Sabah’s position as one of the territories that formed Malaysia,” he said.

However, he stressed that the number of seats alone would not be enough.

“We must also ensure that the representatives given the mandate by the people of Sabah have the courage to speak up for Sabah. They must understand MA63. They must understand Sabah’s rights. And they must have the courage to defend the interests of the people of Sabah,” said Jason.

“We do not merely want more seats. We want greater power to safeguard Sabah’s voice,” he added.

He said the demand was part of efforts to strengthen constitutional safeguards and Sabah’s position within the Federation.

“I believe this struggle must be pursued consistently, not only when an election is approaching,” said Jason.

Currently, Sabah and Sarawak have a combined 56 parliamentary seats out of 222 nationwide, while Peninsular Malaysia holds 166 seats.

The 56 seats held by Sabah and Sarawak account for about 25.2 per cent of the total, falling short of the one-third representation being sought under the MA63 framework.

If the total number of parliamentary seats remains at 222, one-third would amount to 74 seats. This means Sabah and Sarawak would need a combined 74 seats, an increase of 18 from the current 56, to reach the one-third threshold

Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick said on Monday that, in preparation for the next election, Sabah must put forward a proposal for the redelineation of parliamentary and State Legislative Assembly seats.

“Under the Federal Constitution, a review of electoral boundaries can be conducted every eight years,” he said.

He also pointed out that the current State Legislative Assembly constituencies date back to 2020, while the current parliamentary constituencies date back to 2004, or 22 years ago.

“And it is now time for the number of parliamentary seats in Sabah to be increased, in line with our demand for one-third of the parliamentary seats to be allocated to the territories of Sabah and Sarawak,” said Ewon.

Former Putatan MP Datuk Dr Marcus Makin Mojigoh had also repeatedly raised the issue during his tenure in Parliament. — The Borneo Post