RANAU: All political parties from Peninsula Malaysia operating in Sabah must openly declare their support of Sabah and Sarawak political demand to regain one third, or 35%, of the total number of seats in the Malaysian Parliament.
Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri (ANAK NEGERI) President, Datuk Henrynus Amin, said this was necessary in order to justify the presence of Peninsula-based political parties such as PKR, UMNO, PPBM, DAP, PAS, and MCA contesting in the state and parliamentary elections in Sabah and Sarawak.
He said specifically PKR, UMNO, DAP, MCA, and PAS, or any Peninsula Malaysia-based political parties in Sabah, must clarify their position in order to remove lingering doubt about their motive or intention in contesting state and parliamentary elections in Sabah and Sarawak.
“National-based political parties that are trying to dominate or not influence state politics or claiming to be the Sabah Chief Minister must clarify and justify why they are involved in Sabah local politics.”
Henrynus said ANAK NEGERI is making the call for national-based political parties to clarify their position on the matter because the Sabah State General Election is expected to be held in less than a year and the Parliamentary Election by 2027.
He said the voters in Sabah will be able to make informed decisions in casting their votes if all political parties, local or national-based, were to declare their position on the issue.
Therefore, he said, ANAK NEGERI asks all Peninsula-based political parties to comment on or respond to the call by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg that the Federal Government should amend the Federal Constitution to restore the 35 percent, or one-third, share of the parliamentary seat allocation for Sabah and Sarawak.
Henrynus said, as envisioned and tacitly agreed under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the one-third, or 35% share, of parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak are justified as a form of safeguards against amendments to the Federal Constitution that would affect state interests or erode the constitutional rights of the two Borneo states.
Henrynus also urged the Sabah Chief Minister and the ruling GRS State government to bring to the State Legislative Assembly a formal demand to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s rights to one third, or 35%, of the Malaysian parliamentary seats.
He said ANAK NEGERI and perhaps all local Sabah-based political parties will no doubt support the Sabah Chief Minister if he were to take a strong stand on this matter.
Meanwhile, Henrynus said he was perplexed by an article “Why Sabah and Sarawak are unlikely to get 35% of Dewan Rakyat’s seats” by Nehru Sathiamoorthy and published in FOCUS Malaysia on 1st October 2024.
He said he was baffled by the claim in the article that “there is not a single soul in Peninsular Malaysia who wants Putrajaya to give Sabah and Sarawak 35% of the seats in the Dewan Rakyat.”
“ANAK NEGERI is interested to find out whether it is true that “there is not a single person in Semenanjung—be it a Malay, Chinese, or Indian—who wants Sabah and Sarawak to get more seats in the Dewan Rakyat,” he said.
Henrynus said the article essentially suggested no political party in Peninsula Malaysia will support Sabah and Sarawak in their bid to secure 35% of the Malaysian parliamentary seats.
“If the claim is true, then it follows that no one or no political party in Peninsula Malaysia will allow Sabah and Sarawak to have the power to influence the Dewan Rakyat, to choose the Prime Minister (PM), or to amend the Federal Constitution,” said Henrynus in a statement today.
Henrynus said he found the article bizarre, provocative, and an affront to the people of Sabah and Sarawak.
“Such views hostile to Sabah and Sarawak will cause outrage and inevitably the rise of anti-Federal sentiments in Sabah and Sarawak.”
“While the article must be read with a pinch of salt or deep scepticism and no one should speculate as to the real motive of the writer, in order to clear all doubts, political parties or leaders from Peninsula Malaysia involved directly in local Sabah and Sarawak politics, such as PKR UMNO, PPBM DAP, MCA, or even MIC, must openly, clearly, and immediately issue official statements to clarify their position on the matter.
