However, the number of seats will, for now, fall short of Sabah and Sarawak’s demand for one-third of the seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
Anwar said this demand, made under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), needed to be studied further by the federal, Sabah and Sarawak governments as there were different interpretations on the issue.
He said this was being studied by the federal as well as the Sabah and Sarawak attorneys-general.
He, nonetheless, said the government had agreed to increase the number of Sabah and Sarawak’s seats in view of the need for the Election Commission to redraw the electoral boundaries in the states.
“I have already informed (caretaker) Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor and Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg of this decision during a meeting in Kuching,” Anwar said an event here today.
“We will add more seats but it’s up to the EC (to determine the new electoral boundaries).
“Will it be one-third? No. There is no commitment (from the government) in terms of that. But there is a commitment to increase the number of seats.”
Anwar said the increase in the number of seats not only involved Sabah and Sarawak but also parliamentary constituencies in West Malaysia that have populations reaching 400,000 voters.
He said the huge disparity in numbers between rural areas with a lower population and higher-density seats demanded a review of the electoral lines to ensure a more balanced representation in Parliament.
Previously, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof of Gabungan Parti Sarawak had said that Sabah and Sarawak could only be allocated one-third of parliamentary seats after GE16.
In April, Fadillah said the proposal was complex and also required direct one-on-one discussions with MPs from West Malaysia to gain their support.
Currently, West Malaysia takes up 75% of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat. This means constitutional amendments, which require a two-thirds majority, can be passed in the house without requiring the support of Sabah and Sarawak MPs.
The last redelineation exercise for federal seats took place in 2006.