INTERVIEW | The attempt to reserve 35 percent of Dewan Rakyat seats for Sabah and Sarawak was necessary to uphold the spirit of the Federal Constitution - which provided protections for the two territories, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof said.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Fadillah explained that when Malaysia was formed, 35 percent of the seats were intentionally allocated to Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

This, explained Fadillah, meant that Malaya would not be able to amend the Federal Constitution without the consent of the three other member states...