YOURSAY | More Parliament seats won't overcome East Malaysia's woes

 

YOURSAY | ’Changes to number of seats should be based on number of voters.’

DPM: 35pct seat demand based on spirit of Constitution

Hoyo Hoyo: The Federal Constitution is not carved in stone. Amendments can be made and are made for justice.

The demand for 35 percent of Dewan Rakyat seats for Sabah and Sarawak will neither solve the economic doldrums in East Malaysia nor the rising religious extremism in the peninsula.

Population size matters. Electorate size matters even more. The urban and rural discrepancies are too disparaging in Malaysian democracy.

We have three rural constituencies that are equivalent to one oversized urban constituency.

The Election Commission can either merge the three small rural constituencies into one or expand that one big urban constituency into three. Both ways are equitable.

Small and rural constituencies in East Malaysia are easily manipulated by corrupt politicians. They continue stealing timber and neglect the economy and infrastructure.

In the peninsula, rural MPs cluelessly spewed out bans on gambling, beer sales, temple locations and attires, causing shockwaves. They have zero ideas when it comes to economics.

Urgent electoral reforms are needed before allocating 35 percent of seats to East Malaysia. We have too many clowns in Parliament today.

Hmmm: Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof explained that when Malaysia was formed, 35 percent of the Dewan rakyat seats were intentionally allocated to Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

This, he said, meant that Malaya would not be able to amend the Federal Constitution without the consent of the three other member states.

This is a very good point. I have not thought about this before. But on second thought, would giving 35 percent of seats solve East Malaysia’s problems regarding poor infrastructure?

Sarawak has always been ruled by the same party since independence, but that did not stop it from giving away its oil and gas rights to the federal government.

If I remember correctly, only DAP opposed it, while the Sarawak leaders all voted to give it away. Thirty-five percent is only good if we have responsible leaders who have the interests of their people in mind.

GPS almost joined Perikatan Nasional (PN) after the last general election. I shudder to think what the country would be now if they had succeeded.

Apanama is back: There should be 40 percent of Dewan Rakyat seats for Sabah and Sarawak as the time has come to include East Malaysia in our nation's development. Look at their roads, I can say they have been neglected for decades.

The critics are wrong about the population. The population does not grow because most of these people may have settled in Peninsular Malaysia due to the many opportunities here.

If more opportunities are provided for Sabahans and Sarawakians, they may stay put and the population will grow.

To push for it, my suggestion of 40 percent should be implemented. Even 35 percent is fine, but it should go up to 40 in the coming decades.

While oil money is used to develop Peninsular Malaysia, these two Bornean states lack in many aspects.

Over the decades, Sabah and Sarawak have been "di anak tirikan" (treated as stepchildren).

Fadillah, you have a chance to fight for the Bornean states and you could get what you want under this administration.

The time has come to treat Sabah and Sarawak as one Malaysian family.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is the premier of Malaysia, not just for the peninsula. I hope Fadillah can remind him of this.

Newday: Thirty-five percent representation doesn’t stack up. They do not have the population to justify it. Singapore left a long time ago. Be happy with your 25 percent, which still exceeds by some way the population representation.

Fadillah discussed Sabah and Sarawak lagging behind Peninsular Malaysia, but don’t put the blame at the feet of the federal government, put the blame at the feet of successive generations of your state leaders and elected officials who colluded in the pillage of the natural resources and enriched themselves and cronies in the process.

Hardly any of the billions of ringgit gained and stashed in overseas bank accounts barely trickled down to improve the lives of locals.

WhitePony9855: Fadillah must be more precise on the spirit of the Constitution. When written way back in 1963, what was the population then of Malaya (11 states), Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak?

Was the population a determination for the 35 percent seats for Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak?

If it is, then with the exit of Singapore which had a dense population, Sabah and Sarawak, in the spirit of the Constitution, cannot insist on 35 percent of Dewan Rakyat seats.

Any changes to the number of seats should be based on the number of voters. That will be more in line with the democratic principle of one man one vote.

Joe Lho: Even in West Malaysia, only 20 percent of the population is paying taxes and positively contributing economically. Some state governments only drain the nation's coffers with social problems. Why not reduce their seats as well?

Malaysia is multicultural and the minority should be given enough representation so that they are not culturally or religiously assimilated into the majority.

Do you think a certain former prime minister would be politically successful if he identified as Indian? The minority must be able to have full political and economic rights as equal citizens. - Mkini