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BHESS, EC Start Engagement On Increasing Sabah And Sarawak Parliamentary Seats
KOTA KINABALU, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- The Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division (BHESS) of the Prime Minister's Department has initiated engagement with the Election Commission (EC) to discuss the direction and implementation mechanism for the proposal to increase the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) from Sabah and Sarawak.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said he led BHESS on a courtesy call to EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun today to discuss the matter.
He said the meeting followed developments at the federal government level, including the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) meeting on Sept 11, which acknowledged that the matter had been discussed during the Cabinet meeting.
Mustapha said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had also expressed that there was justification for increasing the ratio of MPs from Sabah and Sarawak, subject to further discussions with EC.
“Currently, Sabah and Sarawak hold 56 seats, or 25.3 per cent of the total seats in the Dewan Rakyat. The proposal put forward is to bring the total to 35 per cent, balanced against the seats in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said in a statement today.
He added that today's discussions also focused on the processes and the constitutional, legal, and technical considerations including aspects of electoral boundary delineation, required data, and the nature of engagement between the Government, the EC, and stakeholders.
“This is not merely a question of adding seats. It is about ensuring that the standing and voices of Sabah and Sarawak in Parliament continue to be strengthened, in line with the original spirit of the formation of Malaysia and the implementation of MA63,” he said.
-- BERNAMA
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