THE Sarawak government has submitted a proposal to Putrajaya to increase the number of Sarawak representatives by up to 35 per cent in the Dewan Rakyat.
Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said several meetings were held, including the working committee meetings to discuss the proposed legislative amendments related to the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) on Aug 10 and a meeting between the Sarawak Federal Secretary Office and Sabah Federal Secretary Office on Oct 23.
She said any decision made at the working group level will be brought up to the technical committee meeting, and subsequently be presented to the MA63 Implementation Action Council, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister for the committee’s endorsement.
“The Sarawak government hopes that our proposal to increase the number of representatives from Sarawak and Sabah will be realised and endorsed by the committee, and thereafter the amendment to Article 46 of the Federal Constitution be passed, to ensure a balance representation in the Dewan Rakyat, in accordance with the spirit and the intention of the formation of Malaysia in 1963,” she said.
Hasidah was replying to Tamin assemblyman Christopher Gira (GPS-PRS), regarding the current status of the negotiation on the 35 per cent representation in Parliament during the Q&A session in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.
She said that since negotiations are moving progressively forward, there is no timeframe as to how long the Sarawak government will negotiate.
“Should there be any necessity for the state government to negotiate further with the federal government on any other encroachment of Sarawak rights, the state will continue to pursue to safeguard its rights under the Federal Constitution and MA63,” she added.
To date, the Sarawak government has successfully achieved agreement with the federal government on several matters under MA63, including restoring the Sarawak’s status as an equal partner in the formation of Malaysia in 1963; amendment to Article 161A of the Federal Constitution empowering the state to determine a more complete interpretation of the term “native” to ensure that no race is left out.
The Sarawak government also succeeded in its demand to have a representative on the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia as provided for in paragraph 24 (1) of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report, and increasing the amount of the Special Grant to Sarawak up to RM300 million as an interim payment from 2023.
This interim grant will be adopted until a formula can be finalised and a new amount can be agreed by both parties.
Hasidah said the Sarawak Public Works Department (PWD) has also been recognised as a technical department under Treasury Instruction 182 which gives power to Sarawak to administer federal government development projects implemented in the state with a project value limit not exceeding RM50 million.
