KOTA KINABALU: Parliamentary reforms must include the Sabah and Sarawak perspective for the need to increase the representation of MPs and Senators from the two states in the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, says the Wisdom Foundation.
The Sabah-based think tank’s chairman Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said it was now crucial for the two states to have a greater voice of elected representatives and Senators in the houses.
He said that in order to regain our equal partner status, what is immediately doable is to increase the number of Sabahans and Sarawakians in the Senate from the present nine to 24 members.
“They (Federal Government) can appoint 15 additional Senators from Sabah and Sarawak,” said Madius who is also Opposition Upko president and Tuaran MP.
“Such increase of representation would reflect the spirit of the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963,” he said in a statement on Wednesday (Sept 8).
Madius said that the two east Malaysian states are supposed to be equal partners with Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia), unfortunately, right from the very beginning, the total number of seats has always been unequal with Malaya having two-thirds of the total allocation.
He explained that in 1963, the Dewan Rakyat consisted of a total of 159 seats when Malaysia was formed: 104 seats for Malaya, 16 seats for Sabah, 24 seats for Sarawak, and 15 seats for Singapore.
Based on these arrangements, only 34% of parliamentary seats represented constituents from outside of Malaya and when Singapore separated from Malaysia (in 1965), this percentage dropped to 25%.
“Today, the Dewan Rakyat consists of 222 seats: 166 seats for Peninsular Malaysia, 25 seats for Sabah, and 31 seats for Sarawak,” he said adding that only 25% of the seats were from Sabah and Sarawak.
“Parliament requires many reforms in order to regain its glory as an independent legislative branch, nevertheless, the Federal Government must act on this imbalance in the allocation of seats among the states of Malaysia,” he added.
He said Sarawak is the state with the biggest land area in Malaysia at 124,450 km², followed by Sabah at 73,631 km² which accounted for 60% of the federation’s total landmass.
In addition, Sabah and Sarawak are very rich in natural resources and yet, its people, especially Sabahans, are the poorest in the country, he said.
