KUCHING, May 1 — A few surprises will be announced when a "very, very important person” (VVIP) addresses a political rally at Kampung Haji Baki in the Stampin parliamentary constituency on Thursday night, a Barisan Nasional leader said today.

"I cannot tell to you (now), but there are a few surprises to be announced so I would like to invite as many people as possible to come to Kampung Haji Baki on the night of May 3,” Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) president Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian told reporters at his daily media briefing at his operation centre at Batu Kawah, near here.

Dr Sim, who is also the Sarawak Barisan Nasional’s candidate for the Stampin federal seat in GE14, declined to name who the VVIP he is referring to, but it is believed to be Chief Minister and state BN chairman Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg.

About 10,000 people from the state constituencies of Kota Sentosa, Batu Kitang and Batu Kawah — all under the Stampin parliamentary constituency — are expected to attend the rally.

Dr Sim, who is also the state Minister of Local Government and Housing, said if he is elected in Stampin on May 9, he said he will speak out on the importance of increasing the number of parliamentary seats from Sarawak and Sabah to one-third of the country’s total number, in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said the increase should not be based on population, but on the legal requirements enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

He explained in accordance with MA63 signed by Malaya, Sabah, Singapore and United Kingdom in 1963, the total number of parliamentary seats for the two Borneo states and Singapore was one-third of the total number in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said after Singapore was expelled from the Federation of Malaysia, the parliamentary seats from Singapore were transferred to Peninsular Malaysia.

He said those seats should be fairly distributed between Sarawak and Sabah to retain the one-third composition.

Dr Sim said presently the Borneo states have are 56 parliamentary seats —  consisting of 31 from Sarawak and 25 from Sabah — representing 25 per cent of the total 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

He expressed his concern that Sarawak and Sabah’s rights would be removed or taken away if all the MPs from Peninsular Malaysia combined to support amendments to the Federal Constitution as they are more than two-thirds of them in the Dewan Rakyat.