KUCHING: The Dewan Rakyat has yet to receive any motion related to face-to-face negotiations by Members of Parliament regarding the demand for one-third of parliamentary seats to be allocated to Sabah and Sarawak.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, said the proposal put forward by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, is a government policy matter that must first be determined by the executive.
“I haven’t received anything yet. Maybe it’s still under discussion at the Cabinet level… I’m not involved,” he said at a press conference after attending the 4th Meeting of the Coordination Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (WAIPA) which was officiated by the Premier here today (April 22).
Johari explained that his role is solely to manage parliamentary proceedings in the Dewan Rakyat, while the decision to deliberate on a particular matter lies with the executive.
“That I leave to the executive. I’m just the Speaker who manages the debates. But that is a policy-level issue which I believe must be initiated by the government’s executive branch,” he clarified.
When asked whether the proposal could be discussed in Parliament if received, he said the matter depends entirely on the government’s decision.
“In Parliament, it’s up to them because anything to be discussed there is the executive’s call,” he said.
Earlier, Fadillah had proposed that negotiations to amend the one-third or 35 per cent parliamentary seat quota for Sabah and Sarawak should be conducted face-to-face, especially with every Member of Parliament in Peninsular Malaysia.
He noted that a similar approach was taken by the current Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar when he held the position of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law), in his efforts to amend Article 160 of the Federal Constitution.
According to him, the demand for parliamentary seat allocation is a rather complex and challenging issue, as it not only requires discussions at the ministerial and agency levels but, more importantly, political negotiations with each Member of Parliament to gain support and to explain why such amendments are necessary.
