Kota Kinabalu: Upko has proposed a review of several parliamentary and state constituency boundaries in Sabah.
Its President Datuk Ewon Benedick said the party received several proposals involving the Kota Belud, Penampang and Sepanggar constituencies.
“In Kota Belud, Upko’s resolution is to propose that the Kota Belud parliamentary constituency be divided into two, as there are already four state constituencies there.
“Similarly, for the Penampang parliamentary constituency, Upko proposes a review of the electoral boundaries to create one additional parliamentary seat and two more state seats.
“For the Tuaran parliamentary constituency, I hope Upko Tuaran will submit its proposal on whether the existing boundaries should be maintained or reviewed. I leave this matter to Upko Tuaran.”
The Penampang Member of Parliament and Kadamaian Assemblyman said this when officiating the Upko Tuaran Division Triennial General Meeting at Dewan Tun Hamdan in Tamparuli, near here.
Ewon, who is also Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III and the State’s Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport Minister, said the Sabah Cabinet had previously discussed the need to review parliamentary and state constituency boundaries in the State.
He said he would submit the party’s proposals on the review of parliamentary and state constituency boundaries to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
“All political parties have been asked to submit their proposals to the Chief Minister. I believe the component parties within GRS are also studying the matter at the party level,” he said.
He added that the proposed redelineation had also been discussed previously, including at the Special Council on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), where the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department presented a working paper on the matter.
For Sabah, the last increase in the number of parliamentary seats followed the 2002-2003 electoral redelineation exercise, which took effect for the 2004 General Election.
