By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Sept 4: Sarawak is likely to increase the number of its State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats, says Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
He said the State currently has 82 seats and is the largest in Malaysia.
“With the recent automatic voter registration and Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) 2020 report, it is likely that Sarawak will increase the number of seats,” he said in a one-minute video on his Facebook page today.
Dr Sim, who is also Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government, further mentioned that Sarawak DUN, being the oldest DUN in the nation since its establishment on Sept 8, 1867, is the only assembly that can use English as it is still recognised as the official language of Sarawak.
“It (English) will be an official language (of Sarawak) for years to come because our current Premier (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg) and the rest of the State Cabinet look at English as a very important international language as Sarawak marches forward to become a global player of green energy, digitalisation as well as a major trade hub,” he emphasised.
The last demarcation of Sarawak State constituencies was made in 2015, from 71 to 82 seats.
On Aug 18, the media reported that Sarawak DUN Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, after attending the Parliamentary and State Assembly Constituencies Tour Series on Key Findings of the Malaysia Census 2020 and Sarawak’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 2021, said the Sarawak government is prepared to have additional DUN seats as 108 seats have been made available at the assembly hall.
He also said the population distribution at the district level based on the Malaysia Census 2020 enabled the parliamentarians and State assemblymen to determine the number of additional seats needed.
However, he noted that the additional seats in the State could not be created in time due to the upcoming 15th General Election (GE15).
According to the Malaysia Census 2020, Sarawak recorded a population of 2.45 million with an annual growth rate of 0.2 per cent from 2011 to 2020. — DayakDaily
