Questioning the delay in Federal Government's nod for proposed Sarawak state election seats increase

Recently I have again questioned the delay in obtaining the Federal government’s endorsement for Sarawak’s proposal to increase the number of state constituencies from 82 to 99. This is because the motion, which I have tabled in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) over a year ago, had received overwhelming support but has yet to be acted upon at the federal level.

I am quite sentimental about this issue because I was the one who tabled the motion. The motion received strong support in DUN and our hope is for it to be accepted and implemented. I have pointed out that Parliament had convened several times since the proposal was passed by the DUN. It was tabled more than a year ago. It only needs endorsement from the federal level.

Over the past year, Parliament has sat three times, but there has been no effort by the minister in charge of law to bring it up. The delay appeared to show a lack of respect for the DUN’s decision. I also rejected suggestions linking the proposal to parliamentary constituencies. Whether there is another agenda behind the delay, only they would know. Moreover, I am not talking about parliamentary seats.

We in the state can only arrange for an increase in state seats. The parliamentary seats will remain at 31 but the state seats should be increased to 99. I have pointed out that the proposal is justified as the constitutional requirement for a new delimitation exercise has already been met. Under the Federal Constitution, the delimitation of boundaries can only be done after eight years, and we have passed that period. We feel there is a need to increase the number of state seats which is why it was tabled in Sarawak.

However, I have expressed concern that time may be running short for the proposal to be implemented before the next state election. The next parliamentary sitting will be in July. Even if it is tabled and endorsed, there are still procedures and processes, including public display for the redelineation exercise. Looking at the time now, I have some doubt whether it can go through in time. I have warned that if approval is not secured before the upcoming state election, Sarawak may have to wait another full electoral cycle before the additional seats can be implemented. If it is only passed later, then we may only have it for the next state election after this one and that will be a long time.