Dismissing the allegations by opposition members during the special sitting session at our Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN)

I thank our media friends who had seek my comments on the allegations of gerrymandering by certain Opposition members during the special sitting of the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill, 2025 which was passed during a special sitting of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) at the DUN Complex in Petra Jaya. The passing of the new bill will pave way for an increase in the number of state constituencies from the existing 82 to 99. I have mentioned to our media friends that such allegations are “slanderous and demeaning” to the impartiality of the Election Commission (EC).

Our State Government or this August House has no say whatsoever on where the delineation of the new 17 seats will be. The EC is the only authority empowered to do so under Article 113 of the Federal Constitution. During the debate session, the opposition members from Pending and Padungan had raised their concerns on the timing and financial implications of the seat increase, claiming it to be politically motivated. I have personally dismissed these claims, asserting that the expansion aligns with federal and state constitutional provisions and is long overdue, given that the last redelineation was conducted a decade ago in 2015.

I have also drew a comparison with a recent move by the Welsh Parliament, which had increased its constituencies from 60 to 96 which is a 60 per cent rise. In contrast, Sarawak’s proposed increase of 20 per cent is both reasonable and necessary. Sarawak is about six times the size of Wales, and our populations are comparable which is 2.9 million here versus 3.16 million in Wales. If they saw fit to increase their representation, there is no reason why Sarawak should not do the same,.

I have expressed confidence that the move would eventually facilitate an increase in parliamentary seats for Sarawak; part of the state’s long-standing demand for greater representation in the Dewan Rakyat, in line with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). With this increase in state seats, if Parliament were to consider increasing the number of parliamentary constituencies later, it would be easier for the EC to align the federal and state delineation processes.