Demand for one-third MPs from Sabah, Sarawak not tenable, says lawyer

Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg wants Putrajaya to give more parliamentary seats to his state and Sabah.

PETALING JAYA: Allocating one-third of the seats in the Dewan Rakyat to Sabah and Sarawak is not realistic as both states, though relatively big, are not densely populated, a lawyer said.

Bastian Pius Vendargon said this will result in the distortion of the proportionate representation between the Bornean states and the peninsula.

“The value of one man one vote in these two territories will not be equal in the peninsula as MPs here represent larger electorates,” he said in response to Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg’s call to Putrajaya to have more parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak.

Vendargon said the peninsula, with a land size of 132,000 sq km, has 26 million people, Sarawak with 125,000 sq km has 2.7 million, and Sabah with 73,000 sq km has 3.54 million.

Most of the constituencies, especially in the rural seats in Sabah and Sarawak, have fewer number of voters compared to those in the peninsula.

For example, he said, Kimanis in Sabah has 29,664 voters, Kinabatangan (28,730) and Sipitang (31,882) while Mas Gading in Sarawak has 29,617 voters, Batang Sadong (23,213) and Hulu Rajang (27,520).

“Compare this to constituencies in the peninsula like Arau (48,187), Sik (50,385) Gua Musang (52,524) and Kuala Nerus (86,663).”

He pointed out that the Damansara seat in Selangor, with 164,322 voters, was equivalent to about five seats in Sabah and Sarawak, with an average of 30,000 voters each.

“The demand for at least one-third of the parliamentary seats will completely skew the proportionate representation system as desired in the Federal Constitution,” he said.

“Whether Sabah and Sarawak will get their wish for bigger representation also depends on whether two-thirds of the MPs, and the senators in the Dewan Negara approve an amendment to the Constitution.”

Batang Sadong MP Nancy Shukri, who supported Abang Johari’s call, said it would be appropriate to allocate the parliamentary seats which used to be Singapore’s, when it was part of the federation, to Sarawak and Sabah.

“The current government digressed a lot from honouring the equal partnership spirit in many aspects,” she had said.

Currently, there are only 31 MPs from Sarawak and 25 from Sabah in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat.

When Malaysia was formed in 1963, Malaya held two-thirds of the parliamentary seats with one-third held by Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (Malaya 104, Singapore 15, Sabah 16 and Sarawak 24.)

However, when Singapore left in 1963, its 15 parliamentary seats were not allocated to Sabah and Sarawak. - FMT