KUCHING: The proposal to increase parliamentary seats in Sarawak and Sabah must secure a two-third majority approval in Parliament.
Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof, said the matter is still under discussion because it involves various aspects, including legal interpretation.
“The main challenge for increasing these seats is that if approved, we would need to bring the matter to Parliament, where it requires a two-third majority (approval).
“This means an engagement process must be carried out,” he told reporters after officiating the Shell LiveWire Malaysia 2025 National Awards here today (Jan 24).
He added that in terms of policy and principle, proposals to increase parliamentary seats do exist, but the extent to which Sabah and Sarawak’s demands can be realised depends on ongoing negotiations.
Berita Harian previously quoted Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, as stating that any decision on conducting a review of electoral boundaries will only be determined by the Election Commission (EC) after the expiry of the eight-year interval.
She said, in the context of Sarawak, the eight-year interval for the state’s electoral boundary review ended on 21 August 2023.
The EC is currently preparing recommendations for the review before proceeding with the next steps as stipulated in the Federal Constitution.
Azalina also noted that the review would take into account the addition of 17 state assembly (DUN) seats, which was approved by the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly on July 7 last year and enforced on August 8 the same year.
Regarding Sarawak’s DUN seats, Fadillah said the 17-seat increase has already been approved but still needs to be brought to Parliament for finalisation.
“However, this does not require a two-third majority, and it is not seen as a major challenge. What is challenging is if we want to increase the number of parliamentary seats by more than 25 per cent, meaning we would need a two-third majority,” he stressed.
In other developments, he said issues related to health autonomy will be detailed in a meeting of the Technical Committee under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63), which is scheduled to take place soon.
He added that this is important following the Cabinet reshuffle, which saw the appointment of Datuk Mustapha Sakmud as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak).
“So, he will start the meeting, and then it will be brought to the Technical Committee before reaching the highest-level Council deliberation,” he added.
Commenting on the wish of Deputy Premier, Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, for this year’s MA63 High-Level Ministerial Committee meeting to involve key ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), and the Public Service Department (JPA), to accelerate the implementation of health autonomy in Sarawak, Fadillah stressed that MOF and EPU are already represented by their respective officers.
