By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 19: Sarawak’s sprawling geography has made a strong case for increasing the number of Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) seats to ensure elected representatives can better serve their constituents, Sarawak Legislative Assembly Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar says.
According to a report by the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas), he said the proposed increase is necessary to reflect the State’s vast land area, which is significantly larger than that of other states in Malaysia, and should not be viewed as a move driven by political interests.
“The increase in seats is not intended to serve political interests. Instead, it is to reduce the workload of elected representatives and improve the delivery of services to the people,” he said when officiating the ‘Kamek Prihatin, Kitak Penting’ Outreach Programme at Stadium Perpaduan Dalat on Saturday (July 18).
Asfia said the proposal complements the Sarawak government’s approach of bringing government services closer to the people to ensure development initiatives and policies are formulated based on the actual needs of local communities.
He said the State leadership has consistently adopted a “government on the ground” approach so that people, particularly those in rural areas, can directly benefit from development.
“The leadership in Sarawak chooses to bring the government directly to the people so that every community in the State receives the benefits of development.
“It is also to ensure the people can truly feel the presence of the government in every area,” he added.
The proposal to expand the Sarawak Legislative Assembly from 82 to 99 seats was approved by the State Legislative Assembly in July 27, 2025 through the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill 2025.
However, on June 28, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the proposal is unlikely to be tabled in Parliament this year, as the Election Commission (EC) still needs to complete several statutory processes including a public display exercise and the period for objections.
The proposal is now expected to be brought forward next year. — DayakDaily
