The first step Pandikar should consider is to restore the 1/3 composition of Parliament, its deputy president, Edward Dagul said on Friday.
He said that documentary evidence, including parliamentary records or the Hansard, point towards the intention to ensure that Malaya should not have a 2/3 control in Parliament.
Edward said Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula should have an equal number of Parliamentarians, or one-third held by each State.
“It was because of the fear of an over dominant Malaya vis a vis the Borneo territories and Singapore that in 1963, it was a deliberate intention of the founding fathers that Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore shall have more than one third of the MP seats in the Malaysian parliament.
“But, alas, upon the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, the 16 MP seats held by Singapore were given to the states in Malaya, thus giving Malaya an even more dominant presence vis a vis the Borneo territories,” he said.
Edward said, being a Sabahan himself, it is most suitable that Pandikar takes the lead to restore the 1/3 (one third) principle of the Malaysian parliament.
“At the same time, the reforms of Parliament should also respect the spirit of Malaysia that Sabah and Sarawak are of equal status to Malaya and not the same status to states like Perlis, Malacca and Penang.
“To be able to initiate these parliamentary reforms without interference from the UMNO ministers like Minister in the PM department Dato Shahidan Kassim, we further call for the abolition of the post of Minister for parliamentary affairs,” he added.
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