PUTATAN: The United Kinabalu Progressive Organisation (UPKO) is in favour of Sabah and Sarawak being allocated one-third of the parliamentary seats.
This is not only about the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), according to its president, Datuk Ewon Benedick, but it also serves to maintain political equilibrium between the Peninsula and Borneo region.
“Our demand is that 1/3 of the total number of parliamentary seats should be allocated to Sabah and Sarawak.
“We want 1/3 not only in relation to the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, but there needs to be a balance between the Borneo Region, which is Sabah and Sarawak, and the Peninsula consisting of the states of Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
Ewon told reporters after launching the Putatan UPKO Division at the Kampung Duvanson Putatan Community Hall, here today.
Ewon, who is also the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, said that the sentiment of 3R related to race, religion, and royal institutions (race, religion, royalty) is often raised during the election campaigns in the Peninsula.
Therefore, he said, the Borneo region (Sabah and Sarawak) can serve as a counterbalance or highlight a more moderate politics.
“That’s why I see that there is justification and a strong basis for the demand for one-third of the parliamentary seats,” he said.
Ewon said that he would personally raise the matter in the upcoming meeting of the MA63 Technical Committee after obtaining additional input from various parties, including the UPKO Election Bureau.
“We will also discuss the list of new demarcation areas with the Chief Minister of Sabah. I believe the Sabah and Sarawak parties are looking into this matter, and we still have room to raise the matter on various platforms, including the media, the Dewan Rakyat, the Dewan Negara, the MA63 Implementation Technical Committee, and the MATPMA63 Special Council,” he said.
