It must also ensure that federal parliamentary seats for Malaya should not be more than 65 per cent as agreed upon from the outset during the formation of Malaysia, said Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief.
Jeffrey (photo) expressed regret that unintentional or devious, the ratio of parliamentary seats for Malaya was manipulated through the years from 65 per cent in 1963 (with 104 out of 159 seats) to the current 75 per cent (with 166 out of 222 seats) which renders constitutional safeguards meaningless for Sabah and Sarawak.
Commenting on the proposed re-delineation exercise to be undertaken by the Election Commission, he said this exercise in the 50th or golden jubilee year of the formation of Malaysia provides a golden opportunity for both the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers to rectify a grave mistake of the past and restore the special position of Sabah and Sarawak.
“It also provides the opportunity for the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister in waiting to put their words into action with regards to honouring the autonomy of Sabah and Sarawak. They need to show that they mean what they say and that their words are not election gimmicks.
“It is also an opportunity for the MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to fulfil their moral and legal duty to use the re-delineation exercise to restore the ratio of lawmakers from the Borneo States to 35 per cent,” he said.
The Bingkor Assemblyman added that it was a lost opportunity that STAR did not get to send their representative to the Federal Parliament, who would otherwise lead the move to restore parity in Parliament.
“Equally important, it will give an opportunity to the people to see for themselves whether their elected representatives especially their Sabah and Sarawak federal Ministers will be brave and courageous enough to stand up in Parliament for the rights of east Malaysians.
“It was recommended by the representatives of the Malayan government in the Cobbold Commission and concurred by their British counterparts that “representation of the Borneo territories in the Federal Government shall take account not only of their populations but also of their size and potentialities”.
“This was set out in paragraphs 190(g), 165 and 236(a) (i) of the Cobbold Commission Report,” he pointed out.
Noting that one of the reasons for Sabah to agree to form Malaysia was the need for development, Dr Jeffrey stressed that the reason for considering size and potentialities would also expedite development in Sabah.
“For instance, Kinabatangan is as big as the State of Pahang but represented by a single MP and Keningau with an area of 3,533 sq km is larger than the combined area (3,505 sq km) of Penang, Malacca and Perlis which has a combined total of 26 MPs.
“Imagine the disparity in allocations for the MPs and development funds? It is not rocket science why Sabah lags way behind in development,” he argued.
He further stressed that the EC must involve the Sabah State Government in the proposed re-delineation exercise as envisaged and agreed upon by the founding fathers of the Federation of Malaysia as provided for in paragraph 30(1) of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report which states that:-
Constitutional Safeguards
30. (1) It is mentioned in other parts of this Report that the Federal Constitution should provide that certain provisions relating to the Borneo States should not be amended or repealed without the concurrence of the Government of the State concerned. These provisions relate to immigration, citizenship, representation in the Federal Parliament and the High Court of the Borneo States. …………
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