BEAUFORT: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Deputy President Datuk Ruslan Muharam supports the recent proposal by Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan to increase the number of Sabah State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats.
The Lumadan Assemblyman said the additional seats are justified as a first step towards increasing parliamentary seats to give Borneo a stronger voice in the Dewan Rakyat.
He noted the growing number of voters, particularly young people aged 18, makes this proposal timely for future implementation.
He said the move would serve as a stepping stone to increase Sabah’s parliamentary representation, noting that Sabah and Sarawak currently hold only 56 out of 222 parliamentary seats and does not reflect the one-third status of Sabah and Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
Under the Federal Constitution, constituency redelineation can be conducted every 10 years based on voter population growth, while the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) contains provisions mandating additional seats for Sabah and Sarawak.
The proposal by Jeffrey, who heads Parti Solidariti Tanah Air Ku (Star), called for 14 to 17 new state assembly seats, which the Deputy Chief Minister suggested could lead to 34 additional parliamentary seats.
In a separate development, Ruslan, who is PBS Lumadan Division Chief, said PBS now now had 228 branches with over 10,000 members across 13 polling district zones.
He was confident Lumadan would be contested under PBS for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in the coming 17th state election.
The Lumadan Assemblyman said the additional seats are justified as a first step towards increasing parliamentary seats to give Borneo a stronger voice in the Dewan Rakyat.
He noted the growing number of voters, particularly young people aged 18, makes this proposal timely for future implementation.
He said the move would serve as a stepping stone to increase Sabah’s parliamentary representation, noting that Sabah and Sarawak currently hold only 56 out of 222 parliamentary seats and does not reflect the one-third status of Sabah and Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
Under the Federal Constitution, constituency redelineation can be conducted every 10 years based on voter population growth, while the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) contains provisions mandating additional seats for Sabah and Sarawak.
The proposal by Jeffrey, who heads Parti Solidariti Tanah Air Ku (Star), called for 14 to 17 new state assembly seats, which the Deputy Chief Minister suggested could lead to 34 additional parliamentary seats.
In a separate development, Ruslan, who is PBS Lumadan Division Chief, said PBS now now had 228 branches with over 10,000 members across 13 polling district zones.
He was confident Lumadan would be contested under PBS for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in the coming 17th state election.