PETALING JAYA: As Malaysia marks its 63rd anniversary, lawmakers back more Dewan Rakyat seats for Sabah and Sarawak to better serve vast rural constituencies.
The call by current and former MPs was made also to honour the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Backing a one-third share for Sabah and Sarawak, Julau MP Datuk Larry Sng said it should translate to about 25 seats divided between both states.
“This is in order to restore the proportion guaranteed originally under MA63,” he said.
Sng added that more seats should be created in urban areas, where voters far outnumbered those in rural constituencies, with more government funds channelled directly to representatives of large rural communities.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said a constitutional amendment required a two-thirds majority support or at least 148 MPs in the 222-seat Parliament.
“Increasing the number of Parliament seats, which is presently 222, is not for the government, Cabinet or the Prime Minister to decide,” he added.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said the agreement in principle took into account the ratio and representation of both regions in the Dewan Rakyat.
“This increase is not just about numbers but about making sure the voices of the people of Borneo are taken into account in major national policy decisions,” he said in his Malaysia Day message.
Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced in Kota Kinabalu that the Cabinet had agreed in principle to increase the number of seats for the two states, with the exact number and mechanism yet to be decided.
Former Padang Rengas MP Tan Sri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said Sabah and Sarawak should be given one-third of all seats without further delay.
“We must honour MA63. This is the 63rd year. Don’t wait any more,” he said when contacted.
Mohamed Nazri said more MPs were urgently needed because Malaysian MPs served their constituents and did not just speak about policies in Parliament.
“When I was an MP, people made fun of us for fixing drains, but we do serve,” he said.
Mohamed Nazri added that the new seats should go to interior areas rather than urban ones, so MPs could help people get government aid.
“The population may be small, but the areas are big, so how are they supposed to manage reaching out to all?” he asked.
Mohamed Nazri noted that Padang Rengas had 17,000 voters in 1995 and now it is almost 40,000, adding that interior areas should get their own MPs even with about 10,000 voters, as their numbers would grow.
He urged Malaysians not to begrudge their brothers and sisters in Sabah and Sarawak, or act as if they knew better than the people there.
“They know better what they need and what is best for them. The government has to listen,” he said.
Former MP Manivanan Gowin said the number of seats should not be decided by population alone in both states.
He proposed a transparent formula that would consider their position under MA63, geographical size, terrain, accessibility and the practical difficulty of serving constituents.
“From the experience of serving as an MP, constituency size and accessibility can have a significant impact on an MP’s ability to maintain regular engagement with voters and provide effective representation,” he said.
Manivanan said any such exercise should also cover Peninsular Malaysia.
“Parliamentary seats and boundaries should be determined by the needs of the people, fair representation and the practical realities of serving constituents, not by political considerations,” he said.
