BY ALEXANDRA LORNA & JACINTHA JOLENE
BETONG: A proposal to increase the parliamentary constituencies in Sarawak will be reviewed, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said that the matter proposed by members of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Zone Betong in their resolutions during the 2023 Betong Zone PBB Special Convention earlier, involves not only in Betong parliament constituency but also in other constituencies.
“It (proposal) is comprehensive, and we also take into account the view from Betong zone.
“Therefore, we will form a committee at our main PBB level for us to make an application to create new parliamentary constituencies in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“For this matter, we hope the decision for the new parliamentary constituencies will be considered and agreed on by the Election Commission (EC),” he said.
He said this during a press conference after officiating at the 2023 Betong Zone PBB Special Convention at the Dewan Sukan Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan, here today (OCT 8).
Abang Johari, who is also the PBB president stands firm that Sarawak should have one-third East Malaysian representation in Parliament.
“There is also one resolution about having one-third representation in Parliament.
“There is one so called analyst who said that such matter is not found in the constitution.
“However, it is mentioned in the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC) 1962 which stated that our voices must be taken into account in Parliament,” he said.
Abang Johari said the analyst, in coming out with such statement, could not have read the Cobbold Commission document.
