By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Mar 9: Discussions on the proposal to increase the number of Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) seats are expected to be tabled during the Dewan Rakyat sitting scheduled for July, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof.
“Wait until it is tabled in Parliament. Only then will we know the progress,” he said to reporters at an event here on Sunday (Mar 8), as reported by TVS.
The proposed addition of seats is closely linked to the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which, among others, aims to ensure that Sarawak and Sabah obtain more balanced representation in the Dewan Rakyat.
Fadillah, who is also the chairman of the technical committee on the implementation of MA63, said the matter has also been discussed in negotiations between the federal government and the Sarawak government.
In July last year, the DUS passed a Bill to increase the number of seats from 82 to 99, but the move requires approval from Parliament before it can take effect.
Earlier on, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak), Datuk Mustapha Sakmu,d said that the Election Commission (EC) is currently looking into Sarawak’s proposal to increase the number of State Legislative Assembly seats and expressed hope that the process can be expedited.
Prior to that, on March 3, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat, said the proposal to increase Sarawak’s DUS seats requires further study as it has significant implications for other states in Malaysia.
She added that the ma63 implementation action council meeting, held on Sept 12, 2025, had agreed in principle that increasing the number of Dewan Rakyat seats for Sarawak and Sabah is appropriate, and that the federal government has in principle agreed to increase the number of Parliamentary seats for both States. — DayakDaily
