KUCHING: The Federal Government is committed to expediting the process of increasing Sabah and Sarawak's parliamentary representation, says Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said there was a process to follow, with the Election Commission (EC) prepared to review electoral boundaries once Parliament approves constitutional amendments to increase the Bornean states' seats.
"We will do our best. What is important is that the process has started," he told reporters here on Tuesday (Sept 15) when asked if Putrajaya was optimistic that the seat increase could be implemented before the next general election.
"The EC issued a statement recently. There are several matters they need to complete before they can make further statements about when they can present their proposal to the Cabinet for us to bring to Parliament.
"But the Prime Minister's commitment is for the EC to speed up the process."
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On Friday (Sept 11), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the Cabinet had agreed in principle to increase Sabah and Sarawak's parliamentary seats in a way that raises their overall representation, to better reflect the spirit behind Malaysia's formation.
When Malaysia was formed in 1963, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore collectively held more than one-third of the seats in Parliament.
Following Singapore's exit in 1965 and subsequent constituency redelineations, Sabah and Sarawak's share fell to the current 56 out of 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, or just 25.2%.
Earlier, Fahmi handed over Tabung Kasih@Hawana assistance to press photographer Chimon Upon, whose house was recently damaged in a storm.
"I hope the contribution will help ease the burden on Chimon and his family.
"It shows that we are always ready to assist media friends who suffer mishaps," he said.
Fahmi also said to date, 58 media practitioners in Sarawak had received assistance totalling RM172,000 through Tabung Kasih@Hawana.
In Sabah, assistance totalling RM96,000 has been channeled to 33 recipients.
