Kota Kinabalu: Liberal Democratic Party Vice President David Ong said Sabah is now eligible to increase its State Legislative Assembly seats and there is no reason for delay.
“Over the years, many constituencies in Sabah have grown significantly in voter population. Some seats now have very large numbers of voters, making it increasingly difficult for elected representatives to effectively serve their communities,” he said in a statement.
“Equally important is increasing parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak. At present, the number of seats held by the two Borneo states does not reflect the original spirit of the formation of Malaysia.
“Increasing parliamentary representation is essential so that Sabah and Sarawak can move closer to achieving one-third representation in Parliament, which would allow both states to exercise meaningful veto power on constitutional matters affecting their rights,” he said.
He added this principle is closely tied to the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which envisioned Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in the federation.
David said the Federal Government should demonstrate its sincerity in addressing long-standing concerns on representation by working with the Election Commission to facilitate this process.
He welcomed Sarawak’s move to pursue its review, saying it reflects Sarawak’s commitment to ensuring fair and effective representation.
“The Sabah Government should follow this example. Sabah last carried out its delineation exercise in 2017, when the number of state seats was increased from 60 to 73.
“Under the Federal Constitution, a new delineation exercise can be conducted after eight years,” he said.
