Increase both senate and parliamentary seats: SUPP

MIRI: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth Publicity and Information Secretary, Kelvin Hii, has called for an increase in both senate and parliamentary seats for Sarawak and Sabah.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the current representation of Sarawak and Sabah in parliament, he said the Projek Sama proposal to add 15 senators each for Sarawak and Sabah falls short of addressing the issue of under-representation.

He emphasised that the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63) mandates that Sarawak and Sabah should hold 35 per cent of the seats in parliament — a goal that has yet to be realised.

“The proposal to add 15 senators is a good step, but it does not solve the core problem. The MA63 clearly states that Sarawak and Sabah must hold 35 per cent of the total seats, which includes both senators and members of parliament,” Hii said.

Currently, Sarawak and Sabah control only 25 per cent of parliamentary seats and a mere 4.29 per cent of Senate seats.Hii highlighted that this falls significantly short of the original allocation

agreed upon when Malaysia was formed, especially after the departure of Singapore, whose parliamentary seats were never redistributed to Sarawak and Sabah.

He stressed that East Malaysia’s rights under MA63 should be respected and upheld.

“The interests of Sarawak and Sabah have often been neglected in federal policies, resulting in dissatisfaction. The federal government must take this seriously and return the rights that originally belonged to East Malaysia, showing respect for our status within the federation,” he said.

Hii also argued that increasing the number of senators would only grant East Malaysia more power to delay unfavourable policies, but would not allow them to overturn or reject such policies.Thus

, he questioned why the government is not pushing to increase the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) from Sarawak and Sabah if they genuinely want East Malaysia’s voice to be heard.

“Giving us more senators will help delay policies, but only more MPs will allow us to reject or support policies that impact our region,” he added.

Hii further highlighted that many constituencies in Sarawak and Sabah span vast geographical areas, including Hulu Rajang, Baram, and Kinabatangan, the three largest constituencies by land area in the country.

He stressed that with the introduction of automatic voter registration and the lowering of the voting age to 18, many constituencies have seen a significant increase in voter numbers, making it necessary to redraw electoral boundaries.

“We need a redistricting process that reflects the increase in voters and ensures the 35 per cent seat allocation for Sarawak and Sabah is finally implemented,” he said.