Explain the status of 13 new state seats: SAPP

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Yong Teck Lee urged the Government to explain the status of the additional 13 new state constituencies.He said if the constitutional amendment to have 73 assemblypersons has been gazetted after receiving the assent of the Head of State, but the coming election is only for 60 assemblypersons, then it is possible that a breach of the Sabah Constitution would occur.

"If, on the other hand, the amendment to the constitution has not been assented to by the Head of State or not gazetted, then it makes a mockery of the prestige and supremacy of the Legislative Assembly and signifies a failure of governance by constitution," he said in a statement, Monday.

He added, if, however, it is the Federal Cabinet that has failed to forward the Sabah re-delineation exercise to Parliament for approval, then "this is a shameful disregard of the will and dignity of the Sabah Legislature by the Federal Government."

Yong said the recent disclosure by Election Commission (EC) Chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah that parliamentary approval is all that remains for the proposed electoral boundary re-delineation to take effect in Sabah shows that the re-delineation proposal is entirely in the hands of the Barisan Nasional government.

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"The EC has clarified that there is no pending challenge before any court of law to the electoral re-delineation proposals in Sabah and Sarawak, which are carried out separately from that of the peninsula states.

"Only Johor, Penang and Selangor have pending legal suits challenging the electoral re-delineation," he said.

At the State Assembly debate last August, Ministers had given reasons for increasing the size of the Assembly by amending the Sabah constitution to allow for 13 new seats.

"The Assembly dutifully amended the constitution following which the Election Commission carried out a re-delineation exercise to create the 13 new constituencies.

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"Not only were much costs and work incurred by the Election Commission, members of the public also took part in submitting objections and attending public hearings.

"More than a year later, it seems that it has all been a waste of time and money," he said.

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