KOTA KINABALU: Sabah stands firm alongside Sarawak in its demand for an additional one-third share of Parliament seats.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said that this adjustment is crucial for the state's progress.
“This matter was brought up during the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) implementation action council with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sept 12.
"We need to evaluate our constituencies, their locations and how to achieve a balanced distribution. This is part of introducing new Parliamentary amendments to ensure our interests are safeguarded," he told reporters here on Tuesday (Oct 1).
He stressed the necessity of additional seats, noting the vast size of Sabah.
"For example, we cannot have a constituency represented by just 20,000 people. This illustrates the importance of population considerations when establishing new constituencies," Hajiji added.
Together with Sarawak, they have deliberated on this issue at multiple levels, including their recent discussions last month.
"We will persist with our dialogues with the federal government. This request aligns with the conditions stipulated in the MA63 agreement at the formation of Malaysia and we have communicated our intentions clearly to the Prime Minister," he said.
Though Hajiji refrained from specifying the exact number of seats required, he did mention that it would ensure compliance with the two-thirds requirement within the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.
Historically, when Malaysia was established, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore collectively held one-third of the Parliament's seats.
However, after Singapore's departure, its seats were redistributed to Malaya rather than being divided equally among the Borneo states.
Currently, Sabah and Sarawak share a total of 56 out of the 222 seats in Parliament, representing only 25%.
In addition to the parliamentary seat redistribution, Hajiji also expressed strong support for prioritising educational aid for deserving students.
This stance follows Anwar's recent suggestion to potentially reconsider government support for affluent students attending top government-funded schools.
"Our focus should be on those who are genuinely in need, particularly the less fortunate.
“We should not favour the wealthy and capable but rather extend our support to those who are struggling," he said after participating in Universiti Malaysia Sabah's new students' "Akur Janji" pledge ceremony.
He stressed the vital role of education in cultivating the future leaders of the state and improving the overall quality of life for its residents.
Hajiji reiterated the commitment of the state government to ensure that the people of Sabah have access to quality education from primary to tertiary levels.
Since 1967 until June 2024, a total of 121,897 students have benefited from educational aid through Yayasan Sabah, amounting to RM868mil.
