Group proposes granting Sabah, Sarawak veto powers in Senate

Institutional reforms advocacy group, Projek Sama, has proposed amending the Federal Constitution to grant an additional 15 senators each to Sabah and Sarawak.

The group argued that this would let East Malaysia block any unilateral constitutional amendments raised by Peninsular Malaysia lawmakers.

East Malaysia currently holds only 7.1 percent of the total Senate seats, with just two senators each from Sabah and Sarawak, plus a federally appointed senator representing Labuan.

According to Projek Sama, this small representation limits East Malaysia’s ability to block constitutional amendments.

Its proposal calls for a total of 35 senators from East Malaysia - 17 each from Sabah and Sarawak and one from Labuan - raising the total number of Senate seats to 100, resulting in what Projek Sama called the “Dewan Negara 35/100” plan.

The government is currently restoring equal status to Sabah and Sarawak as part of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

One of the proposals sought by Sabah and Sarawak proponents is for 35 percent of Dewan Rakyat seats to be given to East Malaysia, restoring the balance originally envisioned in the MA63.

However, Projek Sama argued that its proposal, which focuses on the Dewan Negara or Senate, would be easier to implement than increasing East Malaysia’s representation in the Dewan Rakyat.

The “Dewan Negara 35/100” plan only requires amending Article 45 of the Federal Constitution. In contrast, the “Dewan Rakyat 35 percent” demand would require a lengthy process of negotiating seat allocations, constitutional amendments, and constituency delimitation.

The group said this meant the Dewan Negara proposal could be implemented swiftly before the next general election.

The group also argued that their plan would avoid “bloating” the Dewan Rakyat, which would otherwise be expanded to as many as 360 seats if East Malaysia’s representation were increased without reducing the number of seats for Peninsular Malaysia MPs.

Projek Sama emphasised that its proposal aligns with global democratic norms, where senates often serve to protect the rights of smaller or special regions within federal systems.

“Projek Sama urges all parties supportive of East Malaysia’s constitutional veto power to back the ‘Dewan Negara 35/100’ proposal when Parliament reconvenes in October.”

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