Legal fine-tuning still needed, says DPM Fadillah
KUCHING: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has agreed in principle to consider increasing the number of seats in Parliament for Sabah and Sarawak, say senior leaders from the Borneo states.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is from Sarawak, said the proposed increase will be discussed further before any decisions are made.
The Petra Jaya MP said this is due to different legal opinions between the Federal Attorney General and the state attorneys general of Sabah and Sarawak.
“In principle, the Federal Government has agreed to consider increasing the number of seats for Sabah and Sarawak.
“However, this requires further discussions and fine-tuning from a legal viewpoint,” he told a press conference after attending the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) implementation action council meeting chaired by Anwar here yesterday.
“Whatever decision made has to be at policy level.
“After that, the Election Commission will conduct a study on the number of seats and areas involved,” he said, adding that increased representation in Parliament was one of four items discussed during the meeting, which also covered scheduled waste management and the appointment of High Court judges in Sabah and Sarawak.
“On scheduled waste, an amendment to Article 95C of the Federal Constitution will be tabled in Parliament, likely in December, to empower Sabah and Sarawak to manage scheduled waste,” said Fadillah.
He also said the Federal Constitution will be amended to provide for consultation with the Sabah and Sarawak Governors on the appointment of judges in both states.
On the proposal to move tourism from the Federal List to the Concurrent List under the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, Fadillah said this would be fine-tuned by the MA63 technical committee as there were various viewpoints, while other outstanding matters include education and health.
“These matters will continue to be discussed by the technical committee and working committees at ministry level for further action,” he said.
The Sarawak delegation was led by Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who attended the meeting with some members of his Cabinet, said the state is seeking more seats, in line with keeping with the spirit of MA63 and the need to further protect Sabah’s interests.
The Sabah delegation comprised Deputy Chief Ministers – Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam and Datuk Shahelmey Yahya – as well as Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun; Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Ariffin Arif; Tou-rism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew; Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk James Ratib, and State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong.
