By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 9: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has instructed that the Election Commission (EC) submit an updated report on the proposal to increase the number of Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) seats.
In a TVS news report, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said Anwar gave the instruction after the matter was raised at a recent Cabinet meeting.
“Yes, it was raised at the recent Cabinet meeting, and the prime minister asked the EC to prepare an updated report on this matter so that we can implement it.
“So, the prime minister’s commitment is to implement it, and there are some processes that have been communicated to the Cabinet involving the EC,” he said when met by reporters after attending the Ekspresi Jalur Gemilang Japen @ PETRONAS programme in Kuala Lumpur today.
When asked whether the process could be implemented before the next Sarawak State election, Fahmi said several processes needed to be completed first before the latest developments were brought back to the Cabinet.
On Saturday (Aug 8), it was reported that Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri and Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi raised the matter at a Cabinet meeting two weeks ago.
Nancy said that, as there has been no further progress on the tabling and process at the Federal level, they raised it in Cabinet so the matter could be brought to Parliament for tabling. Nancy and Nanta are also the MPs for Santubong and Kapit, respectively.
She said the additional constituencies would allow more elected representatives to serve the people and accelerate development in each area, particularly given Sarawak’s vast size.
It was also reported that Balingian assemblyman Abdul Yakub Arbi had asked that the explanation of the status and progress of the electoral re-delineation exercise for the proposed 17 new DUS seats be provided to the public to avoid confusion and ensure that matters concerning the addition of DUS seats continue to be viewed in light of the actual process and facts.
On July 7, 2026, DUS passed a Bill to increase the number of seats from the current 82 to 99. — DayakDaily
