PBB leader says not expecting Sarawak, Sabah seats to comprise one-third of Parliament soon

KUCHING, Dec 13 — Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice-president Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah today said he does not expect Sarawak and Sabah to get their combined seats to reach one-third of the total number in Parliament to be approved so soon.

He said he hopes that the federal government will expedite the approval by amending the Federal Constitution and then giving instructions to the Election Commission (EC) to conduct a redelineation exercise of the electoral boundaries in both states.

“So, the time is now to see the sincerity of our fellow MPs from Peninsular Malaysia, whether they are sincere with us or whether they will against the amendment,” Karim, who is also the state tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister, said when asked about Putrajaya’s response.

He said the federal government will be seen as going against the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) if it opposes the proposal, and its sincerity will also be tested through its willingness to amend the Federal Constitution.

Sarawak now has 31 federal seats while Sabah has 25. The total is not enough to form the one-third of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

Karim said he hopes that with the appointment of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof as the minister in charge of Sarawak and Sabah, the process of amending the Federal Constitution can be expedited.

“However, this issue needs to be addressed with the EC, Members of Parliament, for the federal Attorney General’s Chambers to come up with a draft of the amendment to the Federal Constitution and probably to give explanation to the Conference of Rulers.

“But it will take some time for this issue to be addressed,” he said, adding that “efforts must be made so it will give us some sort of a feeling of satisfaction.”

“If we keep quiet about the demand for the one-third, then we will see that there is no sincerity on their part,” he said.

However, he said he does not believe that the federal government will amend the Federal Constitution that will deny the demand of Sarawak and Sabah.

“I can see that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has a very good relationship with our Premier (Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg) so amending the constitution to deny us (of the right) does not arise at all,” he said.

He also said he believes that there will be no attempt to further erode the rights of Sarawak and Sabah.

Karim explained that the demand for one-third of the total number of parliamentary seats is to safeguard the interests of both Sarawak and Sabah.

He said without such safeguard, MPs from Peninsular Malaysia, if they want, can pass any amendment to the Federal Constitution, for example, to abolish the rights spelled out in MA63.

He added any amendment to the Federal Constitution must require two-thirds support of the total number for it to go through.