Sabah, Sarawak to get bigger share of Parliament seats, Anwar says as MA63 push moves ahead

The Malaysian Cabinet has agreed in principle to increase parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak to better reflect the Malaysia Agreement 1963's spirit of representation.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim emphasized the need to enhance the proportion of seats for these states, rather than merely increasing their number.

Discussions on the exact mechanism and number of additional seats will involve the Election Commission and representatives from the states, alongside peninsular Malaysia's political entities.

Anwar also highlighted the national importance of the Malaysia Agreement and the government's effort to appoint more Sabah and Sarawak natives to key positions.

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 11 — Sabah and Sarawak will get a higher proportion of parliamentary representation under a Cabinet decision in principle to increase the number of seats for the two Borneo states, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced today.

Anwar said the Cabinet had agreed to increase the number of parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak, although the exact number and mechanism had yet to be determined.

He stressed that any increase must also raise the proportion of seats held by the two states to reflect the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

“An increase in the number of seats can be misleading. An increase does not necessarily mean that the ratio will improve; it could simply mean equalising the numbers.

“So the increase must be accompanied by an increase in the proportion of representation for Sabah and Sarawak,” he said in a press conference after chairing the committee meeting for the implementation of the MA63 with Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg present.

Anwar added that there could also be an increase in seats for peninsular Malaysia.

He said the Cabinet made the decision last Wednesday and the Election Commission had been informed to begin discussions on the mechanism and number of additional seats.

Representatives from the two states would subsequently negotiate with political parties from peninsular Malaysia on the details, Anwar said.

Under the original Malaysia Agreement 1963, when Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak and Malaya formed the Federation, the three territories collectively held one-third of the parliamentary seats to prevent Malaya from unilaterally securing the two-thirds majority required to amend the Federal Constitution.

That proportion was reduced after Singapore left the federation in 1965. Of the 222 parliamentary seats today, Sabah has 25 and Sarawak 31, giving the two states a combined 25 per cent of the total compared with 75 per cent for peninsular Malaysia.

Sabah and Sarawak have been seeking a minimum one-third, or 33 per cent, share of parliamentary representation, which would require about 18 additional seats.

“So now we need to look at the mechanism. The principle is that there must be an increase that raises the proportion of representation. We have agreed to that. But the details and mechanics will be discussed with the Election Commission and the various states and political parties,” Anwar said.

Asked whether the increased representation could be implemented before the next general election, Anwar said he was uncertain whether there would be sufficient time.

“I am not certain whether there will be sufficient time because we have to follow the process. I do not want to interfere with the constitutional process. But the important thing is that the decision has been made and the Election Commission has been informed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Anwar said the government was expediting the appointment of more Sabah- and Sarawak-born Malaysians to key government positions, another matter he said was recognised under MA63.

He said the first phase had already been implemented, while the second phase would be expedited.

Anwar described MA63 as a national commitment rather than an issue concerning only Sabah and Sarawak.

“I had proposed that discussions on MA63 be made part of the national narrative. This is very important because otherwise it becomes a sectoral matter that we have to discuss separately every year.

“It is a national commitment about development, stability, and the commitments we made at independence, Malaya in 1957 and Malaysia in 1963,” he said.

He said the issue should be viewed as part of efforts to strengthen Malaysia as a whole, rather than through the lens of race, political parties or regional interests.

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马来西亚内阁原则上同意增加沙巴和砂拉越的国会席位，以更好地体现1963年马来西亚协议的代表精神。

首相拿督斯里安华·易卜拉欣强调，需要提高这些州属的议席比例，而不仅仅是增加议席数量。

关于具体机制和新增席位数量的讨论将由选举委员会和各州代表以及马来西亚半岛各政治实体参与。

安华还强调了《马来西亚协议》对国家的重要性，以及政府努力任命更多沙巴和砂拉越原住民担任重要职位。

哥打基纳巴卢，9月11日讯——首相拿督斯里安华·易卜拉欣今日宣布，根据内阁原则性决定，沙巴和砂拉越将在国会中获得更高比例的席位，增加这两个婆罗洲州的议席数量。

安华表示，内阁已同意增加沙巴和砂拉越的国会议席数量，但具体数量和机制尚未确定。

他强调，任何增加都必须提高这两个州所占席位的比例，以体现 1963 年马来西亚协议 (MA63) 的精神。

“增加席位数量可能会产生误导。席位增加并不一定意味着比例会改善；它可能仅仅意味着席位数量趋于平衡。”

“因此，增加的席位必须伴随着沙巴和砂拉越代表比例的增加，”他在主持MA63实施委员会会议后举行的新闻发布会上说，沙巴首席部长拿督斯里哈吉吉诺尔和砂拉越总理丹斯里阿邦佐哈里·奥本出席了会议。

安华补充说，马来西亚半岛的席位也可能会增加。

他说，内阁上周三做出了这项决定，并已通知选举委员会开始讨论增加席位的机制和数量。

安华表示，这两个州的代表随后将与马来西亚半岛的各政党就细节进行谈判。

根据 1963 年马来西亚协议，新加坡、沙巴、砂拉越和马来亚组成联邦时，这三个地区共占议会席位的三分之一，以防止马来亚单方面获得修改联邦宪法所需的三分之二多数席位。

新加坡于 1965 年脱离联邦后，这一比例有所下降。如今，在 222 个国会席位中，沙巴有 25 个，砂拉越有 31 个，这两个州合计占总数的 25%，而马来西亚半岛则占 75%。

沙巴和砂拉越一直寻求至少三分之一（即 33%）的议会席位，这需要大约 18 个额外的席位。

“所以现在我们需要研究具体机制。原则是必须提高代表比例。我们已经同意这一点。但具体细节和运作方式将与选举委员会、各邦和各政党进行讨论，”安华说。

当被问及增加代表人数的措施能否在下次大选前实施时，安华表示他不确定是否有足够的时间。

“我不确定时间是否足够，因为我们必须遵循既定程序。我不想干预宪法程序。但重要的是，决定已经做出，选举委员会也已获悉，”他说。

与此同时，安华表示，政府正在加快任命更多沙巴和砂拉越出生的马来西亚人担任政府要职，他还表示，此事也得到了1963年马来西亚协议的认可。

他表示，第一阶段已经实施，第二阶段将加快推进。

安华将1963年马来西亚协议描述为一项国家承诺，而不仅仅是沙巴和砂拉越的问题。

“我曾提议将有关《1963年马来西亚协议》的讨论纳入国家叙事之中。这一点非常重要，否则它就会变成一个部门性问题，我们需要每年单独讨论。”

他说：“这是国家对发展、稳定以及我们在1957年马来亚独立和1963年马来西亚独立时所作出的承诺的承诺。”

他表示，这个问题应该被视为加强马来西亚整体努力的一部分，而不是从种族、政党或地区利益的角度来看待。

扎希德表示，在纳吉布的赦免被推迟后，巫统仍然希望得到有利的结果。

扎希在巫统大会上承诺，如果国阵重新执政，国家机构不会沦为政治工具。

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