More Sabah, Sarawak seats will bring back parliamentary balance, says Salleh

Former Sabah chief minister Salleh Said Keruak says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s proposal to increase parliamentary representation for Sabah and Sarawak will restore an important balance that existed when Malaysia was formed.

Salleh said the two Bornean states should collectively hold at least one-third of the seats in Parliament, consistent with the safeguards and spirit surrounding the formation of the federation.

The Sabah Umno treasurer said Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore had collectively provided an important parliamentary balance when Malaysia was formed in 1963.

Malaya was allocated 105 of the 160 seats in the Dewan Rakyat – representing 65% of the voting power in the House – with Sarawak holding 24 seats, Sabah 16, and Singapore 15.

This denied Malaya the two-thirds majority required to amend the Federal Constitution. However, after Singapore’s departure, its 15 seats were not redistributed to Sabah and Sarawak, causing the two states to lose their veto power.

“This is not simply about giving Sabah and Sarawak a few additional seats. It is about restoring an important balance associated with the original formation of Malaysia,” he said in a statement today.

“Restoring the one-third parliamentary balance is not about weakening Malaysia. It is about strengthening the federal partnership and respecting the foundations upon which Malaysia was formed.”

Sabah (25 seats) and Sarawak (31 seats) currently hold a combined total of 56 parliamentary seats (25.2%) out of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat. This is 18 seats shy of achieving one-third representatiion.

Earlier today, Anwar said the Federal Constitution would be amended to allow for an increase in parliamentary seats for the two states in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Anwar said the increase is necessary to ensure the two states have greater representation in Parliament.

He also said while the possibility of more parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia cannot be ruled out, it must not undermine the need to increase the representation of Sabah and Sarawak.