KUCHING, Feb 5 — A non-governmental organisation (NGO) has claimed that the Sarawak government’s demand for one-third seats in Dewan Rakyat has no legal basis.

The Rise of Social Efforts (Rose) said there is nothing in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) that guarantees the Borneo States one-third representation in Dewan Rakyat.

The NGO pointed out that the 1962 Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report that led to the MA63 did guarantee 25 per cent seats for Sarawak and Sabah in relation to total seats in Dewan Rakyat.

The report however, said this was only for seven years after the formation of Malaysia.

“And that period expired in 1970! There were no further provisions for the subsequent years, and we will have to fall back to general provisions based on population of electorates,” asserted Rose in a statement yesterday.

The statement was issued in light of Sarawak government’s claim that the one-third seats allocation is still being discussed, and that it would take two to three years for a resolution to be reached.

Rose thus called on Sarawakian leaders to ponder whether a one-third parliamentary seat allocation would best protect Sarawak’s interests.

It said leaders in Sarawak ought to decide whether the one-third seat allocation would translate into better policies where the basic needs for Sarawak people are being met.

“We hope to see policies that are effective and sensitive to the needs of all who reside in Sarawak,” it added.

The NGO further pointed out that the one-third parliamentary seat allocation would cause greater over-representation in Parliament as the total electorate was only one-sixth (16 to17 per cent) of the total Malaysian electorate.

“This means that we are already not following the principle of one person, one vote, one value. As an example, the biggest Parliament seat, Bangi has 300,000 voters, the smallest seat Igan in Sarawak has 28,000 voters.

“They are each represented by one MP. If Sabah/Sarawak seats are increased to 35 per cent, the over-representation would become greater. It would not augur well for the upholding of the democratic principle of equality,” explained Rose.

As such, Rose said it supports the recommendation for the Senate or Upper House of Parliament to be reformed – to include elected members so that they will have real veto powers.

Towards this end, it said Sabah and Sarawak rights and interests will be protected by the senators when there is a need to exercise veto powers.

“Sarawak state is due for a constituency boundary delineation exercise under the requirements of the Constitution since the last one was carried out eight years ago in 2015.

“Groups of voters of any affected constituencies are empowered under the 13th Schedule to make objections to the recommendations proposed by the Election Commission on the boundaries of their constituency.

“Delineation of boundaries was preceded by an increase in the number of state assemblypersons in the state legislature in the last exercise,” added the NGO. — Borneo Post

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/02/05/ngo-claims-sarawak-demand-for-one-third-seats-has-no-legal-basis/53454