On Malaysia Day, Guan Eng promises Pakatan backing so Sabah, Sarawak get 35pc Parliament representation

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) fully supports the government’s proposal to increase the number of seats in Parliament for Sabah and Sarawak, DAP national chairman Lim Guan Eng said today.

The Bagan MP went as far as to say there should be no delay in amending the necessary laws so both Borneo states will have a 35 per cent share of seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

He claimed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had “disappointed many” in saying there was not enough time to implement the increase before the 15th general election — which is widely speculated to be called before next year.

“However, this should not stop a constitutional amendment in Parliament to put into practice this 35 per cent principle announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob,” Lim said in his Malaysia Day message.

“This proposal should be enshrined in the Federal Constitution now, to be implemented in future at subsequent general elections.

“PH will support such constitutional amendments thereby ensuring its passage with the required two-thirds majority,” he added.

On September 9, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili announced that a meeting of the Special Council on the Malaysia Agreement that was chaired by Ismail Sabri had endorsed the proposed seat increase for East Malaysia.

To note, Sabah and Sarawak would collectively need 78 out of the current 222 parliamentary seats to reach the proposed 35 per cent.

The two Borneo states currently have 25 per cent or 56 seats altogether with Sarawak controlling 31 seats and Sabah 25, while the peninsula controls 75 per cent with 166 seats.

Lim also said that the increase in seats for Sabah and Sarawak would help curb the “overt racist and extreme sentiments” that he accused the Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional coalitions of fanning.

The DAP politician pointed to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s provocative remarks associating the country’s non-Muslims and non-Bumiputera to corruption in the latter’s August 20 Facebook post.

He noted that despite police investigations against Hadi for public incitement and abuse of network facilities triggered by a number of complaints made, Malaysians “are still awaiting for action to be taken by the authorities”.