KUCHING: It is important for Sabah and Sarawak to get their share of Parliamentary constituencies increased in line with the Malaysia Agreement stipulation of being one among three partners in the formation.
“Not just their Senate seats,” said Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania. He dismissed some peninsula-based NGOs’ suggestions that both states be allocated 35 per cent of the seats in Dewan Negara rather than Dewan Rakyat.
Prof Chin, the leading scholar of contemporary Sabah and Sarawak, said there are numerous reasons why both states should reject the Dewan Negara proposal, which he believed is a “trick” to maintain the status quo and insist on 1/3 seats in both Houses.
“First, the Senate has minimal political legitimacy in Malaysian politics because it is a totally appointed House. Its members are not directly elected by the populace
