Review electoral boundaries for Sabah and Sarawak, urges Upko Youth

Upko Youth chief Felix Joseph Saang.

KOTA KINABALU: Upko Youth today urged the government and Election Commission (EC) to review the present parliamentary electoral boundaries in Sabah and Sarawak.

Upko Youth chief Felix Joseph Saang said while the party acknowledged the state government’s efforts in ensuring the full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the redelineation exercise was urgent and necessary.

“With the restoration of Sabah and Sarawak’s status as equal partners, it is imperative for the number of parliamentary seats to be distributed evenly among the three partners,” he said.

In the MA63, it is stated that no single entity (the peninsula, Sabah or Sarawak) should hold more than one-third of the parliamentary seats.

The Beluran Upko chief said during his party’s triennial general meeting last year, a resolution was passed urging the EC to conduct the redelineation exercise.

“I tabled the motion because we know that with more representatives in Parliament, Sabah and Sarawak communities will have more exposure,” Saang said.

He said the redelineation of parliamentary electoral boundaries in Sabah and Sarawak is one of the aspects in MA63 that could be implemented quickly.

Saang opined that striking a balance in the number of parliamentary seats among the three partners is essential as the voices of the two East Malaysian states must first be heard in Parliament before the country implements any national policy.

This is in line with Upko’s call for fair power sharing, he added.

“It is also vital for the federal government to finalise the addition of the 13 new state seats for Sabah, which were passed by the previous state legislative assembly.”

Saang said the last time a redelineation exercise was carried out was way back in 2003.

Sabah and Sarawak hold 56 of the 222 parliamentary seats at present, which is below the one-third figure of 74 seats. - FMT