Abang Jo: Restoring 35% of parliamentary seats will safeguard our rights

KUCHING: The restoration of 35% of parliamentary seats to Sarawak and Sabah will ensure that the rights of both states are safeguarded in Parliament, says Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

The Sarawak Premier said recent discussions by the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Special Council on the matter were aimed at restoring the balance of Parliament’s composition among Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah.

“We in Sarawak and Sabah have to ensure that our rights and privileges are always protected in Parliament and that the wants of some federal leaders are not imposed upon us, to our detriment and loss.“Some of our rights have been eroded in the last 59 years because we did not have the power to effectively object in Parliament to laws that were unintentionally or purposely enacted to infringe our rights,” he said at the state-level Malaysia Day celebration in Bintulu last night.

He said although Sarawak’s population was small, the state could have more parliamentary seats as constituency creation was not based solely on population size.

“Should a seat be considered only on population size, remote places with scattered populations like Ulu Baram, Belaga and Ulu Rajang would not merit representation, which is not the case as we know it,” he said.He said although the size of representation in Parliament for Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak was not explicitly expressed at that time in MA63, the Inter-Governmental Committee had given an assurance that the interests of the territories were to be protected at all times.

Meanwhile in Bintulu, the colours and rhythms of Sarawak came together in a mesmerising show at the Malaysia Day celebrations.

Performers in ethnic costumes put on a display of traditional dances to showcase the rich culture and heritage of the Bintulu people comprising the Iban, Orang Ulu, Melanau, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh, Kedayan and Vaie communities.

The Sarawak Arts Council’s Dvoices Choir presented Ritma Malaysia, a medley of patriotic songs accompanied by dance moves symbolising Malaysian unity and pride.Local and national artistes including Datuk M. Nasir, Andi Bernadee, Ramles Walter, Florence Lo, Claudia Geres, Safar Ghafar, Sazia Selir and Max Kueh also took to the stage to entertain the 5,000-strong crowd.

Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud and his wife Toh Puan Raghad Kurdi Taib graced the event, along with state dignitaries. The celebration ended with a grand fireworks display.