Deputy minister: Sarawak will continue to fight for more parliamentary seats

Malay Mail

KUCHING, May 8 — Deputy Minister of Law, Malaysia Agreement 1963 and State-Federal Relations Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali today insisted that Sarawak will continue to fight for an increase in the number of parliamentary seats from the two Borneo states.

“I can’t tell when this can be achieved, but we will continue to fight for our rights as long as there are sun and moon,” she said during a question and answer session in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly here.

She said that the Sarawak government’s highest hope is that the demand can be fulfilled to ensure a balanced representation in Parliament in line with the spirit and original purpose of Malaysia’s formation in 1963.

Sharifah Hasidah said that the state government has proposed to the federal government additional seats for Sarawak and Sabah representation in Parliament up to 35 per cent.

She said the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report clearly stated the intention to work out the future constitutional arrangements including safeguards for the special interests of the Borneo states which covers such matters as representation in Parliament and religious freedom.

She said a proposal paper for the increased number of seats of Sarawak representatives in Parliament has been presented to the then Jawatankuasa Rakan Sekutu on August 23, 2022, chaired by the then Minister of Law.

“Following the change in the federal government, the state government continued to pursue the matter under the newly established Malaysia Agreement Implementation Action Council chaired by the prime minister,” she said.

She added that the council’s first meeting was held on January 23 last year.

She said it was decided that the matter to be further deliberated in the working committee led by the legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Department.

She added that the working committee has met twice, and the position paper was again presented and deliberated.