By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 27 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has confirmed that the parliamentary seats in Sabah and Sarawak will be increased, marking the first such move in over three decades.
According to a Bernama report, he said the Borneo States had previously raised the request during discussions on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which outlines their rights and entitlements as equal partners in the federation.
“For the first time since 1993, we will increase the parliamentary seats in Sabah and Sarawak,” Anwar said when addressing a Keadilan Gathering Programme in conjunction with the party’s 27 years of reforms at Dewan Terbuka Awam Merotai Besar in Tawau on Friday (Sept 26).
Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, Communications Minister and PKR information chief Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh, Home Minister and Pakatan Harapan secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, and Sabah PKR State Leadership Council chairman Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
On Sabah’s political future, Anwar reminded that the Sabah Legislative Assembly should be dissolved by Nov 11, urging all parties to remain united and avoid hostility that could disrupt peace and stability.
“We choose good Sabahans, we choose good Peninsular Malaysians. With a good state government and a good federal government, the people will be well taken care of. That is what matters,” he stressed, adding that the state election will give Sabahans the chance to elect leaders who will represent their voices effectively.
Anwar also reiterated that Sabah has received the highest development allocation in history under the unity government, with funding tailored to the people’s needs.
“I was in Kota Kinabalu earlier and saw the effects of the floods, school buildings, and flood mitigation works. The flood mitigation requires RM39 million, and this Monday, I will approve it. That is our way,” he said.
In Budget 2025, Sabah was allocated RM6.7 billion in development funds, reflecting the federal government’s commitment to narrowing the development gap between Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia. — DayakDaily
