He said fairness must guide the process among all four partners; PBB, Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak and Progressive Democratic Party, according to Dayak Daily.

“It’s not for PBB to distribute. The government is managed by GPS, and PBB is only one of its component parties. If we put it as if PBB alone is distributing (the seats), it won’t look good because we are a coalition government,” he said.

Karim said that although PBB’s strength is recognised, fairness and openness to listen to partners should prevail. “We cannot be dictating everything to the other component parties,” he said in Kuching.

However, the smaller parties must also be practical, he said.

Karim said the seat allocation process is usually decided through discussions among the presidents of all four parties.

He hinted at demographics being a key factor, with Chinese-majority areas likely to be allocated to SUPP, and Malay-majority areas to PBB. “More or less like that,” he said.

The increase in the number of state assembly seats, from 82 to 99, was approved by the state legislature in early July. In tabling the bill, Karim said the increase was warranted to accommodate population growth, urban sprawl and vast rural areas.

It will be up to the Election Commission to demarcate the boundaries of the 99 seats.