Salleh urges clarification on proposed additional parliamentary seats for Sabah, Sarawak

PUTRAJAYA, 26 SEPTEMBER 2026 —

Sabah Umno treasurer Salleh Said Keruak called on Putrajaya on Thursday to clarify how many additional parliamentary seats it intends to allocate to Sabah and Sarawak and whether the government is committed to securing one-third representation for the two states in the Dewan Rakyat.

In a Facebook post, Salleh, a former Sabah chief minister, said the core issue is not the number of seats added but the proportion the two states will ultimately hold.

The distinction matters because an increase in seats for Sabah and Sarawak would not strengthen their position if constituencies in Peninsular Malaysia also expand and the overall ratio remains largely unchanged, Salleh said. “More seats do not necessarily strengthen Sabah and Sarawak if seats in Peninsular Malaysia also increase and the overall ratio remains largely unchanged.

The real issue, therefore, is not how many seats are added, but what proportion of parliamentary seats Sabah and Sarawak will ultimately hold,” he said. He urged the government to state clearly whether its objective is to achieve one-third representation or merely to increase the number of seats.

Salleh traced the question to the formation of Malaysia in 1963, when Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore together held about one-third of parliamentary seats. Following Singapore’s departure in 1965, he said, the question remained as to whether the “spirit and balance” behind Malaysia’s formation should still be reflected in Sabah and Sarawak’s representation. “For Sabah and Sarawak, this is not simply about getting more seats.

It is about whether their representation reflects the spirit and understanding upon which Malaysia was formed,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Election Commission denied a report claiming there was a proposal to increase the number of parliamentary constituencies in Sarawak by 15. EC secretary Khairul Shahril Idrus said there are currently no proposals to increase the number of parliamentary constituencies in Sarawak, as claimed by the report, in connection with discussions on the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

He said only the seventh Sarawak state constituency review and redelineation proposal had been prepared, and that it was currently on public display from Sept 1 to 30.

Based on the current 222 seats in Parliament, an additional 18 are required for Sabah and Sarawak to reach the one-third figure. The commission’s clarification came amid renewed political focus on the constitutional position of the two Bornean states, a focus sharpened by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks on Sept 11. Anwar said the Federal Constitution would be amended to allow for an increase in parliamentary seats for the two states in accordance with MA63.

Anwar also said that while the possibility of more parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia cannot be ruled out, it must not undermine the need to increase the representation of Sabah and Sarawak. His statement marked the most recent government position on the matter, linking the seat increase directly to the implementation of the 1963 agreement and setting a condition that any parallel expansion in the peninsula not erode the intended gains for the two states.