GE16 forecast shows why Sabah, S’wak need a third of seats, says SUPP man

Kelvin Hii, the Youth vice-chairman of the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), has expressed concern over a projected outcome for the next general election (GE16) that could see the Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional (BN-PN) alliance form the government without the support of parties in Sabah and Sarawak. Hii, speaking on Facebook, warned that this scenario would be a wake-up call for East Malaysia, indicating that their interests and rights would be sidelined.

Currently, Sabah and Sarawak hold only 56 of the 222 parliamentary seats in the Dewan Rakyat, representing approximately 25% of the total. This imbalance, according to Hii, merits immediate attention and the restoration of the rights rightfully belonging to East Malaysia. He reiterated that a federal government should never disregard Sarawak and Sabah simply because their support is no longer necessary to form a government.

Hii referred to a projection by Ilham Centre, which suggests that in GE16, the BN-PN alliance could secure up to 122 parliamentary seats in West Malaysia alone. A simple majority requires 112 seats. The SUPP leader emphasized that Sabah and Sarawak are equal partners alongside Malaya in Malaysia's formation, and both states deserve the respect they have historically not been accorded.

He pointed out that when Malaysia was formed in 1963, Malaya received 105 of the 160 seats in the Dewan Rakyat (representing 65% of the voting power), while Sarawak and Sabah received 24 and 16 seats respectively, leaving them without the necessary two-thirds majority to amend the Federal Constitution.

Following Singapore's withdrawal from Malaysia, its 15 parliamentary seats were not redistributed to Sabah and Sarawak, resulting in the loss of their veto power. Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg has previously advocated for allocating East Malaysia a third of the parliamentary seats to prevent any federal government from undermining the provisions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963. However, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof has indicated that this allocation could only occur after GE16.