Sharifah Hasidah speaks in the august House. – File photo
KUCHING (May 8): Sarawak will continue to push for increased representation in the Parliament for as long as there are “stars and the moon”, said Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63, and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.
According to Sharifah Hasidah, the Sarawak government has proposed to the federal government an increase in seats for Sabah and Sarawak representation in the Parliament by up to 35 per cent.
She said this proposal is in line with Chapter 1 Paragraph 3 of the Inter-Governmental Report (IGC), which aims to address future constitutional arrangements safeguarding the special interests of Sabah and Sarawak.
“A proposal paper for the increased number of seats of Sarawak representatives in the Parliament has been presented to the then Jawatankuasa Rakan Sekutu (JKRS) on Aug 23, 2022, chaired by the then Minister for Law.
“Following the change of the federal government, the Sarawak Government continued to pursue the matter under the newly established Majlis Tindakan Pelaksanaan Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MTPMA63) chaired by the Prime Minister,” she said in response to a question by Telang Usan assemblyman Dato Dennis Ngau, who had asked regarding the status of Sarawak’s proposal to increase Borneo representation in the Parliament.
She revealed that the matter has been discussed in the working committee led by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department, with two meetings held so far.
“I actually attended both meetings, where our position paper was again presented and deliberated.
“The outcome of the meeting will be presented again at the upcoming Technical Committee Meeting which will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister,” she said.
Sharifah Hasidah emphasised Sarawak’s highest hopes for the fulfilment of this demand to ensure a balanced representation in Parliament, in line with the spirit of Malaysia’s formation in 1963.
On the specific timeline for the proposal’s realisation, Sharifah said: “I cannot say when we can achieve this but as I always mentioned, we will always continue to pursue this and continue to fight for our rights for as long as there are stars and the moon.”