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LABUAN: The proposal by peninsula-based Project Sama that Sabah and Sarawak prioritise seeking third Senate seats instead of parliamentary seats “is a silly notion”, said activist Lau Seng Kiat.
Expressing surprise at an out-of-the-blue proposal, Lau said:
“The claim for the extra MP seats was related to the rights under The Malaysia Agreement (MA 63) which had never been dismissed by the Madani government with discussions ongoing and should not be substituted with Senate seats.
“The group’s proposal was tantamount to offering a banana to Sabah and Sarawak when they deserve a durian.”
DE forum on Sept 22, 2024
Currently, both Sabah and Sarawak account for 56 seats in parliament – 25 in Sabah and 31 in Sarawak. Parliament has 222 seats.
The maximum seats in the Senate is 70.
Lau said while some senators were appointed by the State government, many were appointed by the Agong.
“It is questionable that the veto formula will be an effective tool for Sabah and Sarawak.
“Senators are not answerable to the rakyat but to those who appointed them in which case some of them could be Federal Government support, this makes the veto advocacy unreliable,” said Lau.
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