Why add seats when East Malaysia MPs not helping people - activist

 

Activist P Gopalan-Krishnan questioned the need to add more federal seats in East Malaysia, claiming the elected representatives were not helping their people.

“They (East Malaysian politicians) don’t want representation for the people. Even now, with the representation that they have, they are not doing anything,” he claimed.

Gopalan was speaking during a live debate (above) held at the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night.

The activist from NGO Empower Malaysia is in the running for the chairperson post of election reform coalition Bersih.

He was responding to a question posed to candidates on their stance about the redelineation of electoral boundaries in Sabah and Sarawak.

Gopalan, who lived in Miri, Sarawak for over six years, lamented the lack of access to electricity and internet in the rural parts of the state, as well as rampant corruption by timber tycoons.

“It goes back to voter equality. Why do they (East Malaysian politicians) want a higher number of positions?

“If you’re looking at representation, are they really benefitting the people?” he asked.

He added that Bersih should dig deeper behind the push for better representation in Sabah and Sarawak.

Gopalan is up against Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) former president Muhammad Faisal Aziz for the Bersih chief’s post.

Responding to the question, Faisal said was willing to negotiate the matter, however, fairness and a balanced composition must be taken into account.

Redelineation process

Lawmakers from Sabah and Sarawak have long been pushing to be allocated 35 percent of seats in the Dewan Rakyat, or one-third of the 222 seats.

It was reported last month that the redelineation exercise has already begun in Sarawak and will be carried out in Sabah in 2025, and on the peninsula in 2026.

However, former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh said it was premature to conclude if there would be an increase in parliamentary seats in East Malaysia.

He said factors that will be considered during the study include the proportionality of voters in each constituency.

The Election Commission (EC) also told The Star yesterday that it had not approved the start of any redelineation exercise in any state or region in Sarawak, Sabah, or Peninsular Malaysia.

FMT, quoting a lawmaker from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), previously reported that Sarawak was likely to receive at least 12 additional seats once the redelineation process was over.

“Sarawak may get a minimum of 12 new seats. I believe political parties in GPS are working on the potential areas for the proposed new seats,” the MP was quoted saying, speaking on the condition of anonymity. - Mkini