Chin, a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, said the East Malaysian states should insist on being allocated a third of seats in both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara.
He said the Dewan Negara had minimal political legitimacy given that all its members were appointed rather than elected by the people.
“That is why, for many years, debates in the Dewan Negara have received less attention than those in the Dewan Rakyat. Furthermore, many nominated to the Dewan Negara are viewed as being ‘rewarded’ for their service post-politics.
“Hence, the significant number of retired politicians in the Dewan Negara,” he said in a statement.
Chin also said major legislations are introduced and tabled in the Dewan Rakyat, adding that this was where the real debates occur.
He said the major political players were mostly from the Dewan Rakyat, having been elected as MPs during general elections.
“Ministers from the Dewan Negara are commonly regarded as ‘backdoor’ ministers because they are appointed to the Senate in order to serve as ministers,” he said.
“This alone demonstrates that the political establishment views the Dewan Rakyat as more significant than the Dewan Negara.”
He also pointed out that the Senate did not have the authority to block bills but can only delay them.
Article 68 of the Federal Constitution provides for bills from the Dewan Rakyat to be brought to the king for his assent without going through the Senate, under certain conditions.
For money bills, the Dewan Rakyat can bypass the Senate if there are unresolved differences on the bill after one month of being sent to the upper house. Non-money bills can only take this passage if the impasse over the bill remains for a year.
However, all constitutional amendments must go through the Senate.
“Fifthly, it is clear that the original intention of the framers of the constitution wanted Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak to hold a veto over Malaya. This was to keep Malaya from altering the Federal Constitution at will,” said Chin, citing the 1962 Inter-Governmental Committee Malaysia Report.
He also pointed out that the Dewan Rakyat’s composition under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 would see 104 seats allocated to Malaya, 24 to Sarawak, 16 to Sabah, and 15 to Singapore.
He said this was aimed at ensuring that Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak had veto powers in the Dewan Rakyat. However, when Singapore left the federation in 1965, its 15 parliamentary seats were not redistributed to the Bornean states.
“As time went by, the number of parliamentary seats for Malaya grew to more than two-thirds of the total number of parliamentary seats,” he said.