Peninsular-based political parties urged to support demand of Sabah, Sarawak

RANAU (Oct 4): All political parties from Peninsular Malaysia operating in Sabah must openly declare their support of the political demand of Sabah and Sarawak to regain one third or 35% share of the total number of seats in the Malaysian Parliament.

Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri (Anak Negeri) President Datuk Henrynus Amin said this was necessary in order to justify the presence of Peninsular-based political parties such as PKR, Umno, PPBM, DAP, PAS and MCA contesting in the State and parliamentary elections in Sabah and Sarawak.

He said specifically PKR, Umno, DAP, MCA and PAS or any Peninsular Malaysia-based political parties in Sabah must clarify their position in order to remove lingering doubt about their motive or intention in contesting State and parliamentary elections in Sabah and Sarawak.

“National based political parties which are trying to dominate or to influence state politics or claiming to be the Sabah Chief Minister must clarify and justify why they are involved in Sabah local politics.”

Henrynus said Anak Negeri is making the call for national based political parties to clarify their position on the matter because the Sabah State election is expected to be held in less than a year and the parliamentary election by 2027.

He said the voters in Sabah will be able to make informed decision in casting their votes if all political parties, local or national based, were to declare their position on the issue.

Therefore, he said Anak Negeri asked all Peninsular-based political parties to comment or respond to the the call by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg that the Federal Government should amend the Federal Constitution to restore the 35 per cent or one-third share of the parliamentary seats allocation for Sabah and Sarawak.

Henrynus said as envisioned and tacitly agreed under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the one third or 35% share of parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak are justified as a form of safeguard against amendments to the Federal Constitution which would affect State interests or erode the constitutional rights of the two Borneo states.

Henrynus also urged the Sabah Chief Minister and the ruling GRS State government to bring to the State Legislative Assembly a formal demand to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s rights to one third or 35% share of the Malaysian parliamentary seats.

He said Anak Negeri and perhaps all local Sabah-based political parties will no doubt support the Sabah Chief Minister if he were to take a strong stand on this matter.

Meanwhile, Henrynus said he was perplexed by an article “Why Sabah and Sarawak are unlikely to get 35% of Dewan Rakyat’s seats” by Nehru Sathiamoorthy and published in Focus Malaysia on 1st October 2024.

He said he was baffled by claim in the article that “there is not a single soul in Peninsular Malaysia who wants Putrajaya to give Sabah and Sarawak 35% of the seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

“Anak Negeri is interested to find out whether not it was true there is not a single person in Semenanjung – be it a Malay, Chinese or Indian – who wants Sabah and Sarawak to get more seats in the Dewan Rakyat,” he said.

Henrynus said the article essentially suggested no political party in Peninsular Malaysia will support Sabah and Sarawak in their bid to secure 35% of the Malaysian parliamentary seats.

“If the claim is true, then it follows that no one or no political party in Peninsular Malaysia will allow Sabah and Sarawak to have the power to influence the Dewan Rakyat or to choose the Prime Minister (PM) or to amend the Federal Constitution,” said Henrynus in a statement today.

Henrynus said he found the article bizzare, provocative and an affront to the people of Sabah and Sarawak.
“Such views hostile to Sabah and Sarawak will cause outrage and inevitably the rise of anti Federal sentiments in Sabah and Sarawak.

“While the article must be read with a pinch of salt or deep skepticism and no one should speculate as to the real motive of the writer. In order to clear all doubts, political parties or leaders from Peninsular Malaysia involved directly in local Sabah and Sarawak politics such as PKR, Umno, PPBM DAP, MCA or even MIC, must openly, clearly and immediately issue official statements to clarify their position on the matter.