Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg said this proposal was in line with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and would be forwarded to the Election Commission.

“We will study not only the need for new parliamentary constituencies for Betong Division but statewide.

“We will take into account the views (of the PBB leadership) in Betong to create three new parliamentary constituencies,” he told a press conference after the PBB Special Convention for Betong Zone here today.

He said the application was also in line with the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) report, which clearly stated the importance of Sabah and Sarawak representation in the Dewan Rakyat.

Earlier, PBB vice-president Julaihi Narawi presented nine resolutions from Betong Zone party members.

One of these was to increase the number of parliamentary constituencies in Sarawak to maintain a balance and allow Sarawak and Sabah to have one-third representation in the Dewan Rakyat.

The resolution was also to consider at least 12 new parliamentary constituencies in the state.

In the current Parliament, 166 (or 75%) of the 222 seats are in Peninsular Malaysia while the remaining 25%, or 56 seats, are in Sarawak (31) and Sabah (25).