Ensure Dayaks are fairly represented in assembly seats, says PBDS
PETALING JAYA : The Dayak community, Sarawak's largest indigenous group, must be fairly represented when state assembly seats are redrawn in an impending redelineation, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak said today.
John Brian Anthony.
Party chairman John Brian Anthony said that Dayaks had long been underrepresented, especially in rural areas, due to poor accessibility and limited public services.
'Any new delineation must correct these disparities by ensuring greater proportionality in seat distribution,' he was quoted as saying by Dayak Daily. 'Any new boundaries must not arbitrarily divide longhouses, customary lands, or traditional Dayak territories.'
He said the state government and Election Commission (EC) must respect native customs and that the redelineation exercise must not be used to fragment cultural and social cohesion.
He called for a thorough review of Dayak-majority areas to reflect the actual demographic pattern and cultural identity of these constituencies.
Dayak organisations, local leaders, and community representatives should be formally included in public hearings during the redelineation exercise, he said. 'This is essential to build trust, prevent gerrymandering, and ensure legitimacy in the outcome.'
Sarawak's state assembly seats were last redrawn in a redelineation exercise in 2015. A fresh redrawing can now be carried out, with the expiry of an eight-year moratorium between redelineations.
Sarawak currently has 82 state seats, an increase from the initial 48 constituencies for its first state assembly elections in 1969.
The electoral boundaries of the 82 Sarawak state assembly constituencies in the 2021 state election. (Wikipedia pic)
The GPS-led state government is expected to ask the state assembly at a special sitting tomorrow to increase the size of the assembly to 99 seats.
Earlier this year, Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg, who is Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman, said the EC had informed the state government of the possibility of a revision to Sarawak's electoral boundaries.
He said discussions will be held with GPS partners before a redelineation proposal is submitted to the EC.
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