Rosnah (left) and Musa greeting people at the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Papar multipurpose Hall yesterday bpedit/reporters/pictures/rosnah musa
TUARAN: More Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders have expressed support for the proposal to increase the number of electoral constituencies in the state, the latest being Sabah BN secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan and national Puteri Umno chief Datuk Rosnah Abdul Shirlin.
Abdul Rahman said reviewing the electoral boundaries would not only ensure the people in Sabah are better represented but would also help facilitate the conduct of the coming elections.
The proposal, he said, is in line with the country’s constitution, which states that the Election Commission (EC) may review or consider re-delineation every eight years.
“So I welcome the proposal, but while we would have no problem in approving this at the state level due to our majority representation in the assembly, BN does not have the two-third majority in the Parliament,” he said.
“It means the support from the opposition is required, so if they think it is important, we may implement it. If not, then we would have to postpone,” he told reporters at his Hari Raya open house at his residence here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Rosnah said although she supported the call to create more seats in Sabah, there is no need to put pressure on the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership over the matter, as all BN component parties should focus more on working together for the people.
“I agree with Mositun as we are living in a big state in terms of its geography. Of course we need more seats in Sabah, not only in the East Coast but also all over Sabah,” she said.
“It is more practical to focus on smaller areas to ensure that the leaders could deliver their duties better,” she said at her Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at the Papar Multipurpose Hall here yesterday.
Rosnah who is Papar MP said the suggestion should not be a problem for the central leadership as they are among leaders who are always smart in making decision.
She believes that it would not be good if certain BN component party was claiming that it was the only party that is working for the people.
She said certain component party like Umno might get offended if the other component parties were claiming to be the only ones working for the sake of the people.
“Umno, PBS, PBRS and the other component parties are doing their own job and there is no such thing as only one party understands the needs of the people,” she added.
Among the 5,000 present at Rosnah’s open house were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai and Local Government and Housing Assistant Minister Datuk Ghulam Haidar Khan Bahadar.
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) information chief, Datuk Johnny Mositun in making the call said this was in view of the rapid infrastructure development, economic growth and population increase taking place along the West Coast.
Previously, the EC had been urged to consider creating one or two more Parliamentary constituencies and between four to six new State seats between Papar and Sipitang.