WELL DONE! ANOTHER MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH BY ANWAR’S UNITY GOVT – PUTRAJAYA TO CARRY OUT STUDY ON ‘PROPOSAL’ TO INCREASE SABAH & SARAWAK’S SHARES OF SEATS IN PARLIAMENT TO A COMBINED 35% – HOPEFULLY LAW MINISTER AZALINA, WHO’S FROM UMNO, WON’T DILLY-DALLY ON THE STUDY – AFTER ALL, 35% IS CLEARLY STATED IN BOTH THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE (IGC) REPORT 1962 & MALAYSIA AGREEMENT 1963

KUALA LUMPUR, 27 Mac 2018 - Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said ketika taklimat media mengenai Rang Undang-Undang AntiBerita Tidak Benar di Bangunan Parlimen di sini hari ini.?Gambar FAUZI BAHARUDIN Pemberita Team Parlimen
Govt to study proposal on one-third seats for Sabah, S’wak

Putrajaya will undertake a study on a proposal to increase Sarawak and Sabah’s share of seats in the Dewan Rakyat to 35 percent.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said told Dewan Rakyat yesterday that once the study was completed, it will be evaluated by the cabinet.

“The study is expected to take some time because it involved amending laws, especially the Federal Constitution,” she said.

Azalina added that the proposal would require amending Article 46 of the Federal Constitution.

Azalina said this in a written reply to Ronald Kiandee (PN – Beluran) who asked if the government planned to increase the share of seats for Sabah and Sarawak to 35 percent, as stated in the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report 1962 and Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Under Article 19(1) of the IGC, the territories of Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore were supposed to have a combined 35 percent of the seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

However, since Singapore’s exit from Malaysia in 1965, that proportion was not adjusted. In September last year, Putrajaya’s Special Council on the Malaysia Agreement agreed to address this.

During the November parliamentary election, Pakatan Harapan had promised to ensure 35 percent of MPs come from Sabah and Sarawak.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions and Sarawak and Sabah Affairs) Armizan Mohd Ali told Dewan Rakyat that Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof will chair a technical committee on a proposal to grant Sarawak autonomy over health and education.

Armizan explained that the request for such autonomy was a new issue presented to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Implementation Action Council inaugural meeting on Jan 20 in Kuching.

The action council will only deliberate on the matter after the technical committee completes the study, said Armizan.

SARAWAK REPORT

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