Constitution to be amended for more parliamentary seats in Sabah, Sarawak

The Federal Constitution will be amended to allow for an increase in parliamentary seats in Sabah and Sarawak in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

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

“Some ordinary decisions are usually expedited. The most important one is the decision to amend the constitution to allow greater participation of Sabah and Sarawak MPs, as promised in MA63.

“The increase in the number of MPs is the prerogative of the Election Commission,” he was quoted by Sinar Harian as saying after chairing a Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council meeting in Kota Kinabalu today.

The meeting was attended by Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor, Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg and Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Mustapha Sakmud.

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

Asked whether the representation of Sabah and Sarawak was targeted to make up 40% of the total parliamentary seats, Anwar said Putrajaya had not set a figure.

He said the details and mechanism would be discussed with the EC, the state governments, and the parties involved.