Give at least three seats to us, says Upko
Published on: Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Kuala Penyu: Upko Youth wants at least three of the seven proposed new state seats to be allocated to the party in the next re-delineation exercise in Sabah.Its chief, Arthur Sen said that the party deserves to be given new seats considering that it was allocated with 12 seats in 1999 general election."But the seats were reduced to six in 2004 general election following Parti Bersatu Sabah's (PBS) decision to join the Barisan Nasional (BN) where Upko had to sacrifice six seats to PBS.
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"Upko was willing to do that for the sake of BN's strength…so I think it is not too much to ask for at least three new seats to compensate the six we have lost."It would be great if we can get six but in Upko Youth context, we want at least three," he said when met during National Upko Youth Exco roadshow for southwestern zone at Sawangan Beach, here, recently.Also present were Beaufort Upko chief cum Kuala Penyu assemblyman, Limus Jury and his deputy cum Upko Youth Treasurer, Fredoline Pinggo.Elaborating further, Arthur who is also Ranau Upko Youth chief, said that the party is eyeing the Kadazan, Dusun, Murut (KDM) majority areas such as Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Kimanis-Papar and Beluran.
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He said the re-delineation process must also take into account the racial composition in the area.It was reported that Sabah may see an increase of seven new seats in the coming election. It was not known how many of the seats would be for state or parliamentary constituencies.
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On another issue, Arthur said Upko Youth welcomes the move by the Federal Government to form a special committee to look into Sabah's claim of 40 per cent entitlement from the net revenue collected by the Federal from the State."Some quarters said that we do not need the committee because it is written in the constitution but we think we do need because the state's tax structure is complex."For instance, how do we take into account the taxes from the Peninsula or Sarawak-based companies that operate in Sabah where the taxes are paid from their headquarters, and how much is the total revenue from Sabah."The committee is also needed to provide report to the Finance Ministry so that it can be tabled in Parliament to be approved, and subsequently channel the fund to the state. That is why we need the committee," he said.According to him, the issue is close to the party's heart as he highlighted it during National BN Youth retreat in Kuching last November.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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