KUCHING, Sept. 27 -- There is no contradiction between the federal government's agreement in principle to increase parliamentary representation for Sarawak and Sabah and the Election Commission's (EC) statement that there is currently no proposal to increase Sarawak's parliamentary seats, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said the two statements referred to different stages of the process, with the federal government's agreement still requiring parliamentary approval before the EC could begin the formal process of reviewing the constituencies.

"To me, those are different messages, and there is no contradiction. There are processes to go through before an increase to the parliamentary seats in Sarawak," he to...