Full support for one-third seats push

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Shafie, at the Mesilou Kundasang Sustainable Food Production Park (TKPM).

RANAU: Sabah is more than willing to put political differences aside and fully supports the Sarawak government’s call to regain a one-third Borneo representation in the Parliament, said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said the matter, which he noted was not written in the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63), had been previously voiced as Sabah and Sarawak lost their one-third representation in the Parliament when all of Singapore’s seats were absorbed in the peninsular areas as the island state separated from Malaysia in 1965.

“It is quite a good suggestion and the Sabah government, it is not a problem for us to give support because it is one of the efforts that we must fight, not only for the basis of population density but [also]because of the large state areas that a Member of Parliament (MP) has to serve,” he said after officiating at the Mesilou Kundasang Sustainable Food Production Park (TKPM) at Mount Kinabalu Golf Club in Kundasang here yesterday.

He explained that a parliamentary constituency in Sabah has only one MP compared to some peninsula states, which have more than one MP with similar or smaller in size.

Therefore, he said the parliamentary constituency size should be one of the considerations for the number of representation besides the constituency’s total population density.

“I am confident if it is looked from the perspective of area size that a Parliament Member has to serve, then it is very appropriate if we can realize the proposal brought forth by the Sarawak leadership,” he said.

“The Sabah government fully supports and we will also voice the matter to support the Sarawak government in the effort to raise the matter of how to increase the existing Parliamentary seats. We’ll go for that in the interest of both Sabah and Sarawak as both states are relatively large in terms of geographical area,” he added.

The Sabah Chief Minister insisted that political differences should be put aside for the sake of good administration when a press member questioned his decision to support the neighbouring government’s proposal after Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr James Masing scoffed at the suggestion for Shafie to be nominated as a candidate for Prime Minister.

“No, I think put that aside. I think where we have in terms of interest for both states, it is not a problem. Whatever the notion of the matter, it is not a problem. We must be very focused in terms of common interest, if it is there, we can go together.

“The proposal (for PM), it is another matter. They can make comments. I don’t mind. They can also belittle me. It’s okay with me,” he quipped.

When further questioned about the state’s reason of not claiming a third of the total Parliamentary seats for Sabah instead, Shafie said the decision seems sufficient for the time being.

“I think one-third is enough because Sarawak has 31 Parliamentary members and Sabah only has 25 Parliament members but the area of both states is bigger than the peninsula,” he said.