By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 22: Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap has pushed back against accusations by Chong Chieng Jen, saying the DAP Sarawak chairman’s remarks over electoral delineation and alleged “gerrymandering” misrepresent Malaysia’s constitutional framework and electoral processes.
Responding to the remarks, Yap said Chong was attempting to frame a constitutional matter through selective interpretation while ignoring established legal and institutional realities in Malaysia.
In a statement today, he pointed out that under Article 114 of the Federal Constitution, members of the Election Commission (EC) are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Conference of Rulers.
“In this constitutional arrangement, it is factually incorrect to imply that Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) or Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has any control over the redelineation process or the appointment of EC members,” he said, adding that claims of manipulation by State-based parties were “baseless”.
He noted that the current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim leads the federal administration under Pakatan Harapan (PH), which includes DAP as part of its coalition, underscoring that the federal executive plays a central role in the advisory process for EC appointments.
On allegations of gerrymandering, Yap said differences in voter sizes between constituencies should not be simplistically interpreted as manipulation.
He argued that electoral boundaries in Sarawak are drawn based on multiple considerations, including geography, accessibility, and the need to ensure effective representation across both urban and vast rural regions.
“Reducing this to a simple numerical comparison fails to reflect constitutional and practical realities,” he said, adding that demographic shifts, administrative needs and electoral balance also influence boundary adjustments over time.
Yap further rejected claims that historical changes in seat distribution necessarily indicate political interference, stressing that such changes are shaped by evolving population patterns and governance considerations.
He urged Chong and DAP Sarawak to avoid personal attacks and instead engage constructively within constitutional frameworks and to avoid misleading interpretations that do not reflect how Malaysia’s electoral institutions actually function.
“As an Anak Sarawak, I also call on Chong, in his capacity as PH Sarawak leader, to focus on building a united Sarawakian effort to secure one-third representation in Parliament under the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” he said, adding that the issue should be treated as a collective State interest rather than a partisan dispute.
The exchange comes amid ongoing debate over electoral representation in Sarawak, particularly concerns raised by opposition leaders over disparities in voter distribution between urban and rural constituencies.
Chong had earlier accused Yap of “playing dumb” to divert attention from what he described as long-standing gerrymandering practices that disadvantage urban voters in Sarawak.
He argued that disparities in voter numbers between urban and rural constituencies, citing examples of around 70,000 voters in urban seats compared to about 11,000 in rural ones, reflect unequal representation, and maintained that DAP Sarawak has consistently opposed proposed state re-delineation exercises on those grounds. — DayakDaily
