THE Sarawak government wants the return of parliamentary seats originally held by Singapore before its 1965 exit from Malaysia, emphasising that this move would restore the 35 per cent seat allocation for Sabah and Sarawak in line with the founding principles of Malaysia and the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report.
Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63, and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali noted that the matter was recently raised at the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council meeting on September 12.
She assured that the meeting acknowledged the need for the Attorney General’s Chambers to revisit this issue from a legal standpoint.
“Following this review, discussions will proceed between the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Sarawak State Attorney-General’s Chambers, and the Sabah State Attorney-General’s Chambers to analyse the interpretation of ‘constitutional safeguards’ in the Cobbold Commission Report and the 1962 IGC Report.
“The federal government has already shown positive steps by establishing a Working Committee to facilitate these discussions between the federal and state governments of Sabah and Sarawak.
“The committee, composed of representatives from Sabah, Sarawak, and federal officials, will ensure that issues concerning representation, autonomy, and rights are properly addressed,” she said.
She said this in response to Datuk Fazruddin Abdul Rahman’s (GPS-Tupong) who questioned the basis and significance of Sabah and Sarawak’s 35 per cent parliamentary seat claim in the August House today.
Hasidah further explained that if the 35 per cent parliamentary seat request is approved, it would entail amendments to Article 46 of the Federal Constitution to adjust seat allocations by state.
She added that only after this amendment would the Election Commission be required to conduct a detailed review under Article 113 of the Federal Constitution to proceed with boundary adjustments.
Hasidah reiterated that the issue was revisited during the recent MA63 Implementation Council meeting, where further examination was deemed necessary.
“This measure is crucial to ensure that none of the three original Malaysia Agreement entities – Malaya, Sabah, or Sarawak – can unilaterally amend the Constitution in ways that might impact the rights of other entities,” she said.
Highlighting that the 35 per cent seat allocation claim for Sabah and Sarawak is rooted in the 1962 IGC Report, Hasidah noted that in 1963, Malaya held only 104 of the total seats in the House of Representatives.
“Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore together had 55 seats, ensuring that no single entity held a two-thirds majority. When Singapore exited the Federation in 1965, the Constitution was amended to abolish Singapore’s seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
“This change reduced the Sabah and Sarawak seat share from 35 per cent to 25 per cent, while increasing Malaya’s proportion from 65 per cent to 75 per cent,” she said.
