By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Sept 10: The proposed expansion of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUNS) from 82 to 99 seats has come under scrutiny from Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak, with party chairman Chong Chieng Jen raising concerns over voter distribution, ethnic representation and Sarawak’s unchanged parliamentary representation.
Speaking at a press conference today, Chong questioned whether the Election Commission’s (EC) proposed redelineation for the 17 new State seats would deliver genuinely equitable representation for Sarawakians.
He said the first concern was the wide disparity in voter numbers among the proposed 99 state constituencies.
“Based on DAP’s analysis, the average constituency would have about 20,582 voters. However, using a range of between 15,000 and 26,000 voters as a reasonable benchmark, 49 of the 99 seats fall outside that range.
“Twenty-four constituencies would have fewer than 15,000 voters, while 25 would have more than 26,000. The disparity is particularly stark between rural and urban constituencies,” he said.
Chong, who is Padungan assemblyman, pointed to Pelagus, which has 10,372 voters, and Piasau, which has 34,546, noting that the latter has more than three times as many voters.
He said the significant differences raised questions about equal representation and whether voters in different constituencies would effectively have the same electoral weight.
The second concern was ethnic representation, with DAP’s analysis showing that Iban voters make up 28.8 per cent of Sarawak’s total voter population.
However, Iban-majority constituencies would account for only 22.2 per cent of the proposed 99 seats, he said.
“The number of Iban-majority seats remains at 22, compared with 26.8 per cent of the existing 82 seats.
“By comparison, the number of Malay/Melanau/Kedayan-majority seats would increase from 27 to 31, while Chinese-majority seats would rise from 14 to 16.
“These figures point to an imbalance between voter population and political representation,” he stressed.
The third issue, he pointed out, was that Sarawak’s parliamentary representation would remain unchanged at 31 seats despite the increase in the number of State constituencies.
Chong, who is also Stampin MP, argued that the proposed redelineation would create 17 additional State seats without increasing Sarawak’s representation in the Dewan Rakyat.
“This raises questions about the earlier justification that increasing State seats could help pave the way for greater parliamentary representation.
“It is not simply about adding 17 more seats. This is about whether the new electoral map will produce fairer, more balanced and more representative constituencies, and whether Sarawak’s growing population should also translate into a stronger voice in Parliament,” he said.
The EC’s proposed redelineation remains subject to the public objection process, which runs until Sept 30.
The process will involve consideration of representations and, where applicable, local inquiries before the EC proceeds with the subsequent stages of the review.
Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong and Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii were among those present. — DayakDaily
