Minister: 15 parliamentary seats allocated to S’pore should go to S’wak, Sabah to maintain one-third quota

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Oct 14: The 15 parliamentary seats that were allocated to Singapore should be handed over to Sarawak and Sabah to maintain the 35 per cent or one-third quota.

Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said this is to ensure special rights for Sarawak and Sabah contained in the Federal Constitution are protected.

“The Federal Constitution that was agreed upon during the formation of Malaysia in 1963 is like a guide on how the country should be managed.

“After Singapore left in 1965, the fifteen parliamentary seats were not given to Sarawak and Sabah, but given to Malaya.

“This makes the number of seats owned by Malaya exceed two-thirds, and technically, they can remove anything contained in the Constitution. This includes the rights of Sarawak and Sabah,” said Abdul Karim when they met today.

He was asked to comment on the view of a representative from the National Council of Professors that the demand for one-third of the parliamentary seats from Sarawak and Sabah is not in the provisions of the Federal Constitution.

Abdul Karim added that in order to maintain the one-third quota, any implementation of demarcation of parliamentary constituencies should prioritise Sarawak and Sabah.

“If we have one-third, at least the people’s representatives from Sabah and Sarawak will ensure that the rights of Sabah and Sarawak are not lost,” he said. — DayakDaily