00:00Giving Sarawak and Sabah 35% of Dewan Rakyat's seats would cause major electoral distortions,
00:08electoral reform NGO Engage warned.
00:11Despite concerns about the Malaysia Agreement 1963, Engage said the two states should not
00:15request more seats since they represent only 17.4% of Malaysia's electorate.
00:22It pointed out that the average constituency size in Sabah and Sarawak is 64,508 voters,
00:28which is 68% of the national average of 95,377.
00:34Adding 21 seats to their current 57 would reduce the average constituency size there
00:39to 47,140, or 49% of the national average, further distorting representation, it said.
00:48Engage added that states like Selangor and Terengganu would be further underrepresented
00:52as their average per constituency is 193,571 and 131,837, respectively.
01:01Engage also expressed concern that the increase would supercharge the political power of parties
01:06in Sabah and Sarawak, allowing them to form a simple majority with only 34 seats from
01:10Peninsular Malaysia, undermining democratic principles.
01:15Danish Rajareza, FMT News.
