KOTA KINABALU, Oct 2 — Sabah opposition leader Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal is prepared to support any effort to push for the number of Sabah and Sarawak’s Dewan Rakyat seats to be increased to one third share of the total number.

The former chief minister said that it was agreed upon in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) that both Sabah and Sarawak should hold one-third of the seats in Parliament to ensure adequate representation of voters from all regions.

"We will support any action in Parliament towards this if brought up. If there is the move, there is ample time to get this done before the next General Election,” he said.

He said that in addition to it being stated in the MA63, it would also be able to ensure better administration for Sabah as the land size in east Malaysia was far vaster than Peninsula Malaysia.

In Sabah for instance, many federal constituencies have three state constituencies under them, with some like Lahad Datu and Kalabakan has four state constituencies.

"These land areas are huge. Kinabatangan and Lahad Datu are bigger than Pahang and Perlis in terms of size, and Perlis has three MPs.

"They need more representation to be able to table all of their issues, or else our voices will get lost among the others,” he said, adding that conventional practice would add about one seat every ten years.

Sabah’s state constituencies have increased since independence, from 48 to 60 and most recently, 73.

Yesterday, chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor also supported the need to increase its share of parliament seats, saying that they have discussed the matter with Sarawak premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg and brought it up with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Hajiji also cited the state’s rights as enshrined in the MA63 and its need to catch up with development.

Malaysia was initially formed in 1963 with Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore, with Peninsular Malaysia reportedly having one-third of the Parliament seats, Sabah 16, Sarawak 24 and Singapore 15.

But when Singapore no longer became part of Malaysia, Singapore’s seats were not distributed to Sabah and Sarawak but were moved to Peninsular Malaysia.

Currently, Sabah and Sarawak together have 56 out of the total of 222 seats in Parliament or 25 per cent. They are looking at a one third share, which is around 35 per cent.