Jawatankuasa khas perlu kaji tambah kerusi Sabah, Sarawak, kata menteri

Kota Kinabalu - A special committee under the Malaysian Treaty Implementation Committee (MA63) needs to be established to examine the proposal of increasing the number of representatives from Sabah and Sarawak in the Dewan Rakyat, according to Deputy Prime Minister for Sabah and Sarawak, Mustapha Sakmud. The committee should include representatives from the Election Commission Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya, Legal and Human Rights Department, Sabah and Sarawak Human Rights Department, and the state government.

Mustapha stated that the committee would also need to set a timeline for implementation. The committee should include representatives from the Election Commission, Legal and Human Rights Department, Sabah and Sarawak Human Rights Department, and the state government. He said that with this approach, they hope to be able to examine the timeline related to the increase in Parliament seats in Sabah and Sarawak.

On Monday, BHESS and the Prime Minister's Department began consultations with the Election Commission to discuss the objectives and implementation mechanism of the proposal to increase the number of Dewan Rakyat representatives from Sabah and Sarawak. Mustapha said initial discussions with the Election Commission were at the preliminary stage to understand the methods and research needed to boost the number of Parliament seats in both states.

He said that in response to the meeting, the Election Commission clarified that they have certain methods but a detailed study is needed because the increase in Parliament seats in Borneo needs to take into account the proportion of the increase in the mainland. On September 11, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government agreed to increase the proportion of representation for Sabah and Sarawak MPs beyond the current level, in line with the MA63 spirit.