KOTA KINABALU – The Election Commission (EC) should give in to the people’s aspirations by restoring a 35% ratio for the overall number of parliamentary seats in East Malaysia, said Sabah deputy chief minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan.
He said the 35% federal seats demand for the Borneo states was a guarantee and a promise when Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak formed Malaysia as equal partners.
“Not one region should have the power to wield two-thirds of Parliament seats. That is why I believe that the EC, as a wise and practical body, will accept this (proposal).
“I believe they will agree to this,” he said during a press conference after launching the AirAsia Ride here today.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob gave his commitment to issues raised in Sabah and Sarawak, including the total number of representatives for both states in Parliament.
This comes after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili announced that the Special Council on the 1963 Malaysia Agreement had endorsed the move of restoring Sabah and Sarawak’s 35% parliamentary seats quota in a meeting recently.
Ongkili said the ultimate task of the MA63 Special Council now is to convince the EC to solve the issue.
Jeffrey, who is also Sabah Star president, said the 35% parliamentary seats quota will show the nation’s recognition that there is no Malaysia without Sabah and Sarawak.
“That is why, we hope that (with the 35% quota), one day, the prime minister or deputy prime minister could be someone from Sabah or Sarawak,” he said.
He added that while the matter could not be done immediately, he hopes the 35% quota for East Malaysian states will be put in place for the next general election.
On another note, Jeffrey said Sabah’s state assembly is expected to table its version of the anti-hopping bill during the next state assembly sittings in November.
He also said that he will be defending the Keningau seat in the coming general election if the people still want him as a representative.
He confirmed that Sabah Star has identified its candidates for the coming election, but he has yet to submit the list to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)’s chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Jeffrey said GRS and Barisan Nasional have been discussing how they could work together to avoid clashing seats in the coming election, but he could not confirm what would happen at the very last minute.
“Anything can happen at the last minute. But theoretically, we would avoid clashing seats,” he said.
Earlier, Jeffrey flagged off the Airasia Ride convoy with Airasia Super App CEO Amanda Woo, to mark the e-hailing platform officially initiating its services in Kota Kinabalu.
Also present were AirAsia Ride regional CEO Lim Chiew Shan, and Airasia Super App delivery head Lim Ben-Jie. – The Vibes, September 12, 2022
