Latest news with #DUN
Borneo Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Borneo Post
No DUN dissolution announcement July 28 - CM's Office
The Sabah State Assembly building. KOTA KINABALU (July 27): Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor will not be announcing the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) on Monday (July 28) to pave the way for the 17th Sabah State Election (PRN17). Public speculation had mounted following the conclusion of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah's (Gagasan Rakyat) annual general convention at the Sabah International Convention Centre on Sunday. However, an official from the Chief Minister's Office confirmed that Hajiji is scheduled to depart for Jakarta on Monday to attend the annual Malaysia-Indonesia consultation, where matters including the Sulawesi Sea are expected to be discussed. Hajiji also confirmed to reporters on Sunday that he will be accompanying Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on a working visit to Indonesia starting on Monday. The official was responding to a viral report that claimed Hajiji would announce the dissolution of the State Assembly on July 28. The report further alleged that Hajiji would seek an audience with the Head of State on July 29 or 30 to submit the dissolution letter. It also claimed that the State Assembly Speaker would declare receipt of the dissolution notice on August 1, with the Election Commission (EC) being formally notified on August 4. According to the report, the EC is expected to meet and determine the election dates soon after, with the official announcement slated for August 11. It speculated the following timeline for PRN17: nomination on September 6, early voting on September 15, and polling day on September 20. Political analysts expect the dissolution of the state assembly after the Gagasan Rakyat congress. They speculate that Hajiji is likely to call for polls before National Day on August 31 or after Malaysia Day on September 16. Hajiji had said that he would consult the presidents of all Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) component parties before making any move to dissolve the DUN. The 16th Sabah DUN will be automatically dissolved on Nov 11 this year if it is not dissolved earlier. Under the law, the state election must be held within 60 days after the dissolution.
National Post
22-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Dream Office REIT Announces July 2025 Monthly Distribution
Article content TORONTO — DREAM OFFICE REIT (TSX: ('Dream Office' or the 'Trust') today announced its July 2025 monthly distribution of 8.333 cents ($1.00 annualized) per REIT Unit, Series A ('REIT A Units'). The July distribution will be payable on August 15, 2025 to unitholders of record as at July 31, 2025. Article content Dream Office REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust. Dream Office REIT is a premier office landlord in downtown Toronto with over 3.5 million square feet owned and managed. We have carefully curated an investment portfolio of high-quality assets in irreplaceable locations in one of the finest office markets in the world. For more information, please visit our website at Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content For further information, please contact: Article content Michael J. Cooper Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (416) 365-5145 mcooper@
Borneo Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Borneo Post
Sibu MP warns DUN expansion risks becoming GPS' 'political tool'
Oscar Ling SIBU (July 15): Sibu MP Oscar Ling has cautioned that the expansion of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) from 82 to 99 seats could become a 'political tool' to strengthen Gabungan Parti Sarawak's (GPS) chances in elections if the redelineation process is not conducted fairly. Ling stressed that state assembly seats are not only meant to represent the voice of the people in each constituency but also serve as a platform for determining who forms the government. 'If the increase in constituencies is merely to ensure every corner has a representative in the state assembly, but ignores the principle of 'one person, one vote', then such delineation can easily be exploited as a political tool to manipulate elections for greater advantage,' he said in a statement. Moreover, Ling said having more seats means the value of each seat may be diluted, especially in a one-party dominant situation. 'With GPS already holding 80 out of 82 seats, any additional seats will mainly serve to appease component parties and consolidate its power. These extra seats will not meaningfully impact GPS's dominance and therefore have little added value,' he claimed. Ling also claimed that based on the unofficial information currently available, constituencies with majority Chinese voters are still too few and do not reflect the true representation of the Chinese community in Sarawak's demographic structure. 'This raises the question of whether this contradicts GPS' stated goal of fairly reflecting the people's representation in different areas. 'Of course, to avoid falling into the trap of racial politics, constituency delineation should ideally adhere to the 'one person, one vote' principle, meaning the population size in each constituency should not differ too greatly. 'This would prevent significant imbalances in seat distribution by ethnicity, which could lead to suspicion among races,' he said. Noting that Sarawak already has 82 state seats, Ling said if increasing parliamentary seats is the goal, then under the premise that each parliamentary seat consists of two state seats, the current 82 seats are sufficient to form 41 parliamentary constituencies. 'This would mean adding 10 new parliamentary seats to the existing 31, which would help Sarawak and Sabah push for the one-third parliamentary seat share in the future,' he added. Ling also criticised the state government's claim that increasing state seats would effectively promote local development, arguing that this is not necessarily true. 'The current method of using Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) funds to drive rural development is not ideal, as projects vary greatly in quality and lack long-term planning.' He suggested that the government should consider establishing a rural transformation agency to oversee proper planning for rural development instead of letting individual representatives carry out scattered, uncoordinated projects. Ling also pointed out that more people from rural areas, especially the younger generation, are migrating to cities. 'Therefore, urban areas must become a key focus for Sarawak's future development, and the number of state seats should reflect urban population density. 'If constituency delineation continues to be based primarily on land area, urban areas will often be neglected.' He called for a review of the state's previous 60/40 rural-urban development ratio, noting that people of all ethnicities are moving to cities in search of better lives. 'After all, Sarawak's future development will focus more on technology and green energy industries,' he added. Ling emphasised that electoral delineation must be based on upholding the spirit of democracy, using constituency delineation to better demonstrate a progressive and mature democratic system — not to be exploited as a political tool.
Borneo Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Borneo Post
Sibu MP warns DUN expansion risks GPS 'political tool'
Oscar Ling SIBU (July 15): Sibu MP Oscar Ling has cautioned that the expansion of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) from 82 to 99 seats could become a 'political tool' to strengthen Gabungan Parti Sarawak's (GPS) chances in elections if the redelineation process is not conducted fairly. Ling stressed that state assembly seats are not only meant to represent the voice of the people in each constituency but also serve as a platform for determining who forms the government. 'If the increase in constituencies is merely to ensure every corner has a representative in the state assembly, but ignores the principle of 'one person, one vote', then such delineation can easily be exploited as a political tool to manipulate elections for greater advantage,' he said in a statement. Moreover, Ling said having more seats means the value of each seat may be diluted, especially in a one-party dominant situation. 'With GPS already holding 80 out of 82 seats, any additional seats will mainly serve to appease component parties and consolidate its power. These extra seats will not meaningfully impact GPS's dominance and therefore have little added value,' he claimed. Ling also claimed that based on the unofficial information currently available, constituencies with majority Chinese voters are still too few and do not reflect the true representation of the Chinese community in Sarawak's demographic structure. 'This raises the question of whether this contradicts GPS' stated goal of fairly reflecting the people's representation in different areas. 'Of course, to avoid falling into the trap of racial politics, constituency delineation should ideally adhere to the 'one person, one vote' principle, meaning the population size in each constituency should not differ too greatly. 'This would prevent significant imbalances in seat distribution by ethnicity, which could lead to suspicion among races,' he said. Noting that Sarawak already has 82 state seats, Ling said if increasing parliamentary seats is the goal, then under the premise that each parliamentary seat consists of two state seats, the current 82 seats are sufficient to form 41 parliamentary constituencies. 'This would mean adding 10 new parliamentary seats to the existing 31, which would help Sarawak and Sabah push for the one-third parliamentary seat share in the future,' he added. Ling also criticised the state government's claim that increasing state seats would effectively promote local development, arguing that this is not necessarily true. 'The current method of using Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) funds to drive rural development is not ideal, as projects vary greatly in quality and lack long-term planning.' He suggested that the government should consider establishing a rural transformation agency to oversee proper planning for rural development instead of letting individual representatives carry out scattered, uncoordinated projects. Ling also pointed out that more people from rural areas, especially the younger generation, are migrating to cities. 'Therefore, urban areas must become a key focus for Sarawak's future development, and the number of state seats should reflect urban population density. 'If constituency delineation continues to be based primarily on land area, urban areas will often be neglected.' He called for a review of the state's previous 60/40 rural-urban development ratio, noting that people of all ethnicities are moving to cities in search of better lives. 'After all, Sarawak's future development will focus more on technology and green energy industries,' he added. Ling emphasised that electoral delineation must be based on upholding the spirit of democracy, using constituency delineation to better demonstrate a progressive and mature democratic system — not to be exploited as a political tool.
Daily Express
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
Time to add up to 17 more seats: Jeffrey
Published on: Monday, July 14, 2025 Published on: Mon, Jul 14, 2025 By: Iskandar Dzulkifli Text Size: Jeffrey said the proposal serves as a stepping stone to increase the number of parliamentary seats in Sabah in the future, particularly in the Borneo region. Kota Kinabalu: Parti Solidariti Tanah Air Ku (Star) has proposed adding 14 to 17 new State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats in Sabah. Party President Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said this follows the recent approval of additional DUN seats in Sarawak and Sabah should take similar action. 'Since Sarawak has started (passed the Bill to add DUN seats), we should do the same thing. I will raise this issue at the coming Cabinet meeting. 'My estimate is that between 14 and 17 new seats need to be added,' he said when met at the 'Oppa' Film Screening on Scam Awareness at the Marina Club, Sunday. Also present was Luyang Star Division Chief Eliza Leong, who is also Persatuan Inspirasi Sabah President who organised the event. Jeffrey, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, said the proposal serves as a stepping stone to increase the number of parliamentary seats in Sabah in the future, particularly in the Borneo region. He noted that Sabah and Sarawak currently have 25 and 31 parliamentary seats respectively, representing about 25 per cent of the total 222 parliamentary seats. 'This means Peninsular Malaysia already has more than a two-thirds advantage (in parliament), while Sabah-Sarawak only have 56 parliamentary seats and we have agreed to change this situation. 'Before that, we need to first increase the number of DUN seats in Sabah and we expect an addition of around 34 new parliamentary seats (in Sabah), in my opinion,' he said. In another development, Jeffrey hopes the Technical Meeting on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) scheduled for today (July 14) will reach a resolution on the issue of returning 40 per cent net revenue to Sabah. He said this should be fulfilled as stipulated in the Federal Constitution and implemented, but the matter has been dragging on for more than 40 years without the required five-yearly review. 'The 40 per cent net revenue is not about petroleum royalty, this involves revenue from all sources such as business and so on obtained from Sabah and the Federation. 'Sixty per cent belongs to the Federal Government, while 40 per cent returns to us (Sabah) and the Federal Government must determine an appropriate amount (for that 40 per cent) and Sabah will also present the amount based on records,' he said. 'Therefore, I hope the MA63 Technical Meeting will reach a resolution on this 40 per cent issue and subsequently implement it as stipulated in the Constitution,' he said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
