PETALING JAYA: The Sabah government says it needs to consider several factors, including the size of an area, in its push for one-third of parliamentary seats to be allocated to East Malaysia.
Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor said there was a need to consider the number of voters in a particular area too, Berita Harian reported.
"For example, we cannot have only 20,000 people in a parliamentary constituency. So we need to discuss such matters with the federal government," he was quoted as saying.
Hajiji said such factors must be considered to ensure fairness when asking for the interests of Sabahans and Sarawakians to be taken into account (in Parliament).
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When Malaysia was formed in 1963, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore were allocated a total of 55 seats (or 34.5%) in the then 159-member Dewan Rakyat. Singapore’s provision of 15 seats was eliminated in 1965 when the republic left Malaysia, leaving the Borneo states with a 27% share in the 144-seat house.
In 1973, when the Dewan Rakyat was expanded to 154 members, the extra seats were allocated to West Malaysian states and the federal territory while Sabah and Sarawak retained their 16 and 24 seats respectively (or 25.9%).
The current Dewan Rakyat comprises 222 members, with Sabah allocated 25 seats and Sarawak 31, for a combined 25.2% share.
In addition to the calls from Abang Johari and other political leaders for one-third of Dewan Rakyat seats for Sabah and Sarawak, activist groups have backed a claim for East Malaysian control of more than one-third of the seats in the Senate (Dewan Negara).
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