KOTA KINABALU: Former Federal Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak is pressing Putrajaya to provide explicit details regarding the number of additional parliamentary seats earmarked for Sabah and Sarawak and to confirm whether the government remains dedicated to securing one-third representation for these two states.
“Merely adding seats fails to genuinely empower Sabah and Sarawak if Peninsular Malaysia simultaneously receives additional seats, leaving the fundamental proportion essentially unchanged.
“Consequently, the critical question transcends seat quantity—it centres on what percentage of total parliamentary representation Sabah and Sarawak will ultimately hold,” he said in his latest Facebook post.
Salleh stressed that the government must transparently declare whether its goal is establishing one-third representation for Sabah and Sarawak or simply expanding their seat count.
He highlighted that upon Malaysia’s formation in 1963, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore collectively comprised approximately one-third of parliamentary seats.
Following Singapore’s 1965 withdrawal, the pivotal question emerged: should the foundational “spirit and equilibrium” of Malaysia’s creation continue guiding Sabah and Sarawak’s parliamentary standing?
“For Sabah and Sarawak, this transcends a mere seat acquisition matter. It fundamentally concerns whether their representation honours the spirit and principles that established Malaysia,” he added.
