Sabah DAP secretary Chan Foong Hin said that at the formation of Malaysia, the two states, with Singapore, had been given one-third of Dewan Rakyat seats.

The intended goal of the arrangement was to give East Malaysia states veto power, “to block or stop any bills detrimental for Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore at the time”.

However, after Singapore left the federation in 1965, the number of seats for Sabah and Sarawak were not increased, but Peninsular Malaysia gained more seats.

Chan, who is Kota Kinabalu MP, also called for the Dewan Negara to be empowered and given a more meaningful role unlike its present status as a “rubber stamp” for government policies.

Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg and his deputy James Masing recently called for Sabah and Sarawak to be given a third of the number of seats in the Dewan Rakyat. Their call also received the support of Sabah chief minister Shafie Apdal.

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