By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 2: The proposed transfer of Demak Laut into the Kota Samarahan parliamentary constituency would turn an approximately average-sized state constituency into an overloaded one, while also requiring its future Member of Parliament to manage a larger area of Kuching Division, Persatuan Pemangkin Daya Masyarakat (ROSE) and Tindak Malaysia said.
The civil society groups said the proposed move was among several serious regressions in the Election Commission’s (EC) first draft of Sarawak’s redelineation exercise, particularly in relation to equality of voting power, malapportionment and the preservation of local ties.
The first public display of the long-awaited redelineation exercise began yesterday (Sept 1), involving 17 proposed new State constituencies and bringing the total number of Sarawak’s State seats to 99.
In a joint statement, ROSE and Tindak Malaysia acknowledged several positive aspects of the EC’s proposal, including greater transparency, more detailed constituency maps, eligibility-checking tools and clearer procedures for public representations.
They also noted that the proposal significantly reduced the gap between the most and least populous state constituencies.
Immediately before the exercise, Senadin in Miri was the most populous State constituency with 74,501 voters, while Gedong in Batang Sadong was the least populous with 10,481 voters — a disparity of about seven to one.
Under the first draft, Piasau in Miri becomes the most populous with 34,546 voters, while Pelagus becomes the least populous with 10,372 voters, reducing the gap to about three to one.
“However, this headline improvement masks significant problems that remain underneath the overall distribution of constituencies,” the groups said.
They said the proposal continued to exhibit substantial malapportionment and failed to adequately address historical disparities in voting power.
ROSE and Tindak Malaysia said they had previously proposed that constituencies should ideally fall within a deviation of about 20 per cent above or below the average Sarawak State electorate.
They noted that when Sarawak’s State constituencies were first delineated in 1968, the EC had voluntarily adopted a deviation of approximately 30 per cent from the average.
Under the latest proposal, however, Pelagus remains about 50 per cent below the average Sarawak state electorate.
Their analysis showed that 34 constituencies under the first draft would still have electorates below 80 per cent of the state average, while 30 would have electorates at 120 per cent or more of the average.
The groups also highlighted Bandar Kuching and Sibu as areas where the proposed changes had failed to adequately address oversized constituencies.
In Bandar Kuching, all four constituencies, including the newly created Tabuan Jaya, would have electorates at least 140 per cent of the Sarawak State average, they said.
In Sibu, the number of State constituencies would increase from three to five, but three of the five would remain oversized.
“Instead, the proposal takes only a tepid step towards reducing their oversized nature,” the groups said, noting that population growth and urbanisation had been particularly pronounced in Bandar Kuching.
They also identified Demak Laut and Piasau as constituencies where malapportionment had been aggravated.
Demak Laut, previously part of Santubong, is proposed to be placed within Kota Samarahan, moving it from an approximately average-sized State constituency to an overloaded one.
The groups said the change also had implications at the parliamentary level, as Kota Samarahan already spans three administrative divisions, with most of the constituency in Samarahan Division, its southern portion in Serian Division and a smaller portion in Kuching Division.
“Under the proposed boundaries, Demak Laut is moved from Santubong into Kota Samarahan. This means that the future Member of Parliament for Kota Samarahan would have to deal with a larger area of Kuching Division, including its associated government offices and local councils, despite the constituency otherwise being centred around Samarahan,” they said.
They also questioned the community ties between Demak Laut and the newly created Samarindah area, saying the two areas appeared to be connected mainly by one principal road.
At the same time, Asajaya constituency, which the groups said had stronger connections with the Kota Samarahan area, would be removed from the constituency and transferred to Batang Sadong.
They added that the unusual shape of Stakan remained largely unaddressed.
“These changes raise serious questions about whether the principle of preserving local ties and communities of interest has been adequately considered,” they said.
ROSE and Tindak Malaysia stressed that redelineation should not be treated merely as a mathematical exercise involving the movement of voters between constituencies.
They said constituencies represented communities with shared administrative structures, economic relationships, transportation networks and social ties.
The groups also raised concerns over the electoral roll used for the exercise.
They said the EC was using the principal electoral roll of 2015, gazetted on Jan 29 this year, containing 2,037,648 voters, despite the April 2026 Sarawak electoral roll containing 2,047,842 voters.
While the difference of about 10,000 voters might not materially alter the overall outcome, they said the EC should explain why the redelineation exercise was delayed until September and why the earlier electoral roll was selected.
ROSE and Tindak Malaysia further warned that inequality in voting power remained severe at the parliamentary level.
Before the redelineation, Miri had 150,924 voters compared with 29,509 in Igan, representing a disparity of about 5.1 times.
Under the first draft, Miri would have 158,411 voters while Lubok Antu would become the least populous parliamentary constituency with 28,458 voters, widening the gap to about 5.6 times.
The groups questioned why the EC appeared to be aggravating rather than reducing the disparity.
They said the proposed boundaries continued to disadvantage urban voters despite Sarawak’s demographic shift towards increasingly urban areas.
ROSE and Tindak Malaysia nevertheless welcomed what they described as genuine improvements in transparency and public participation under the first draft.
They urged Sarawak voters to examine the proposed boundaries, check their eligibility to submit representations and identify areas where objections could be raised.
They particularly called on voters in Mas Gading, Puncak Borneo, Lanang, Bintulu and Miri to scrutinise the proposed boundaries and, where appropriate, form qualified objector groups.
The groups said they would work with communities to provide information and assistance to those eligible to submit representations.
They also encouraged Sarawak voters to register as redelineation objectors through the following form: https://tinyurl.com/Persempadanan2026 .
“The redelineation exercise will determine how Sarawakians are represented for years to come.
“This is not merely about drawing lines on a map. It is about determining the value of every Sarawakian’s vote,” they said. — DayakDaily
