The Semporna MP said the need for Sabah and Sarawak to get more than a third of the parliamentary seats had been raised before in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) talks.

“We discussed about state rights in the MA63 talks and the distribution of parliamentary seats is part of that.

“We need to evaluate Sabah and Sarawak’s involvement in the Parliament.

“At present, the numbers are not balanced, and I’m aware that this dates back to when Singapore left Malaysia in 1965.

“This matter had been raised in the MA63 talks but we will follow up again on it,” he told reporters after launching the Sabah Pay online payment platform at a five-star hotel here.

On February 6, Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg had called for Sabah and Sarawak to be given more than a third of the total seats in Parliament.

He had also brought up the matter to the Election Reform Committee that was tasked to submit a report on electoral reform proposals, processes and legal amendments.

But lawyer Bastian Pius Vendargon claimed the demand was not realistic as both states are not densely populated.

Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Mohd Yusof said an amendment to the constitution was needed to realise such representation in Parliament.

Sabah, Sarawak along with Singapore previously held 35% of the seats in Parliament while Peninsular Malaysia has 65%, but the balance of power in Parliament changed after Singapore left Malaysia in 1965.

Peninsular Malaysia subsequently had 104 seats or 72%, a 7% increase, while Sabah and Sarawak had 28%.

At present, Sarawak and Sabah only hold 25% of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, compared to Peninsular Malaysia with 75%.

A Sabah MA63 activist, Zainnal Ajamain, noted that the division of parliamentary seats was clearly stated in the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report 1962.

He said Sabah and Sarawak should get more than one-third of the seats in Parliament so that they could veto any laws seen as detrimental to the two states.