Sarawak passes bill to increase assembly seats
KUCHING: The Sarawak Legislative Assembly will increase its membership from 82 to 99, with the redelineation of constituencies to be carried out by the Election Commission (EC).
This comes after the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill 2025 was passed in a special one-day sitting on Monday (July 7).
State Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah stated that the Bill aims to ensure Sarawakians are well-represented and well-served.
"This is a constitutional exercise done in the spirit of justice. This exercise is not about redelineation of constituencies but increasing the number of representatives in this House from the present 82 to 99," he said when winding up the debate on the Bill.
Abdul Karim also said the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government had no say in the redelineation of the 17 new state constituencies as this was the prerogative of the EC.
He dismissed allegations by Opposition members Chong Chieng Jen and Violet Yong that the seat increase was meant to strengthen GPS.
"The EC is an impartial commission. The state government does not set it up.
"Accusing the state government or this House of practising gerrymandering in the redelineation exercise is tantamount to demeaning the EC.
"We will leave it to the EC to do the necessary, pursuant to Article 113 of the Federal Constitution," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
38 minutes ago
- The Star
Having more seats favours GPS
Analysts say larger number of seats would make it tougher for Opposition to win KUCHING: The increase in Sarawak's elected state representatives from 82 to 99 will consolidate the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak's (GPS) hold on power, says a political analyst. Prof James Chin from the University of Tasmania said the large number of new seats would make it even more difficult for the Opposition to win a state election due to the dominance of GPS. 'With more seats at 99, this means the Opposition has to win 56 seats to replace the current government,' he said when contacted. GPS secured a landslide victory in the last state election in 2021, winning 76 of 82 seats. Chin said the increase in seats would also benefit Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the backbone of GPS. 'If you look at the distribution of seats, especially for PBB, the GPS-led government will want to carve out new Malay/Melanau-majority seats in areas where traditionally they don't have seats,' he said, adding that he expected these new seats to be created in the urban centres of Sibu, Miri and Kuching. The Sarawak Legislative Assembly passed the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill 2025 at a special one-day sitting yesterday. The Bill, tabled by state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Hamzah, proposed an increase of 17 elected representatives to bring the total to 99. Abdul Karim said the redelineation will enhance accessibility to government, ensure the needs of the rakyat are more efficiently and effectively addressed, and improve service delivery. He also said the proposal was in line with Article 113(2)(ii) of the Federal Constitution, which allows a review of electoral boundaries after an interval of not less than eight years. He said given the vast geographical expanse of Sarawak and the extensive areas that assemblymen representing rural constituencies must cover, the proposed increase is both reasonable and necessary. The last redelineation exercise in Sarawak took place in 2015, creating 11 new constituencies. This followed the passing of the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill in November 2014, increasing its membership from 71 to 82. Universiti Malaya's Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said PBB is expected to get 10 of the 17 new seats, as it is the dominant party in GPS with 47 of the current 82 seats. He said the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) would likely get three new seats, while two seats each would go to Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP). 'PBB has been the backbone of the state government for over 50 years. 'Allocating more seats to PBB can be seen as recognising its role and positive record in governing the state,' said Awang Azman. Abdul Karim said the Bill is a constitutional exercise done in the spirit of justice. 'This is not about redelineation of constituencies but increasing the number of representatives in this House from the present 82 to 99,' Abdul Karim added when winding up the debate on the Bill. Abdul Karim also said the state government had no say in the redelineation of the 17 new state constituencies as this was the purview of the Election Commission. He dismissed allegations by the Opposition that the seat increase was meant to strengthen GPS. Persatuan Pemangkin Daya Masyarakat (ROSE) said the Bill's passing would have an effect on future elections, including the next state election due by 2027. It called on voters to participate in the process as provided for in the Federal Constitution.
Borneo Post
39 minutes ago
- Borneo Post
Call on Putrajaya to maintain RON95 subsidy for Sarawak
Wong King Yii KUCHING (July 8): Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (Dapsy) Sarawak has urged the federal government to maintain the RON95 subsidy for Sarawak. Its treasurer Wong King Yii said Putrajaya should take into account Sarawak's unique context before applying a 'one size fits all' policy across the nation. 'Sarawak is an oil-producing state. Our land and resources have contributed significantly to Malaysia's petroleum industry. It is only reasonable that Sarawakians enjoy continued access to subsidised fuel as part of the returns from our contribution,' he said in a statement yesterday. According to Wong, Sarawak was not asking for special treatment but rather fair treatment based on the reality on the ground. Wong said any national policy should reflect regional differences, and the federal government must ensure subsidy reform 'does not come at the expense of ordinary Sarawakians'. He also noted that petrol consumption in Sarawak was relatively lower than Peninsula. Given this, he said maintaining the RON95 subsidy in Sarawak would not have a major impact on the national subsidy bill, but would go a long way in easing the cost-of-living burden on Sarawakians—especially those in rural and remote areas. In addition, Wong said Sarawak's public transport system was severely under-developed compared to Peninsular Malaysia, where places like the Klang Valley have Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and other public transit systems. 'In contrast, Sarawak lacks even basic alternatives with no trains and extremely limited bus services. For most Sarawakians, owning a car is not a choice, but a necessity—this makes fuel price increases especially painful and unavoidable,' he said. Wong also called on the federal government to discuss future subsidy reforms with the Sarawak government and local stakeholders. Dapsy Sarawak fuel subsidy lead RON95 Wong King Yii
Borneo Post
43 minutes ago
- Borneo Post
Tupong assemblyman questions DAP's non-support for addition of DUN seats
Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman KUCHING (July 8): Tupong assemblyman Dato Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman has questioned the logic behind the Democratic Action Party (DAP)'s reluctance in supporting the proposed increase of seats in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN). Debating the DUN (Composition of Membership) Bill 2025, during a special sitting yesterday, Fazzrudin expressed bewilderment at what he described as DAP's inconsistent stance, calling it 'a clear sign of political confusion'. 'I am baffled that members from the Opposition, particularly Pending and Padungan, oppose increasing state seats, yet (they) support adding parliamentary seats. This inconsistency is difficult to comprehend,' he pointed out. The Bill, tabled by Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, proposes to increase the number of elected DUN Sarawak members from the present 82 to 99, following the constitutional provision that allows for a review after eight years. Fazzrudin, also the chief political secretary to the Sarawak Premier, said the Opposition's claims that the seat increase would benefit Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) politically were 'premature and unfounded'. 'The role of the DUN today is only to decide whether or not we agree to increase the seats. 'The redelineation process after that is under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission (EC), not GPS. 'The EC, which falls under the federal government's jurisdiction, will handle the technical aspects including public objections and final approvals.' Fazzrudin lambasted DAP representatives for suggesting that the move was politically motivated. 'How is it fair that a large area like Hulu Rajang, which is the size of Pahang, is represented by only three state seats? Shouldn't we be looking at geographic realities too, not just population?' he said. Fazzrudin stressed that having more representatives would translate to more allocations of resources and better development for rural and underrepresented areas, aligning with Sarawak's long-term development goals. 'The idea of 'one person, one vote' must also consider the physical size and development needs of a constituency. A larger area with only one ADUN (assemblyman) cannot be effectively served.' He also reminded the House that the proposed redelineation was in line with Malaysia's founding agreements, citing the need to restore the one-third parliamentary seat representation for Sarawak and Sabah, a provision originally safeguarded during the formation of Malaysia. 'This is the first step towards restoring that balance. 'Once, Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore together held one-third of the seats in Parliament. That balance must be reinstated to ensure that no law detrimental to our rights is passed without any proper check.' The Bill is expected to proceed to the next stage of the legislative process, pending approval from the EC, and eventual endorsement by the federal government.
