By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 3: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Youth Chief Christopher Gira Sambang has urged the Election Commission (EC) to carve out a new State constituency, Bukit Arip, from the sprawling Selangau parliamentary seat, saying its sheer size has made effective representation increasingly difficult.
While welcoming the EC’s proposed redelineation exercise in Sarawak, he expressed disappointment that the draft does not include an additional State constituency for the Selangau parliamentary seat which currently comprises the Tamin and Kakus State constituencies.
He proposed that the new Bukit Arip constituency be carved out from parts of Tamin and Kakus, saying the move would strengthen representation for rural communities and improve the delivery of government services across one of Sarawak’s largest and most geographically challenging parliamentary constituencies.
“Based on the latest official data, Selangau Parliament has 47,836 registered voters comprising 24,383 in Tamin and 23,453 in Kakus.
“It also covers more than 9,000 square kilometres with an estimated population exceeding 80,000,” he said in a recent statement.
Christopher who also serves as the Tamin assemblyman added that Tamin alone has about 400 longhouses while Kakus has another 350, excluding villages and other settlements.
“This means the Selangau parliamentary constituency has around 750 longhouses, making it one of the largest rural constituencies in Sarawak with a highly dispersed population,” he pointed out.
He stressed that the proposal was not politically motivated but aimed at ensuring fairer and more effective representation for the people.
“In determining new electoral boundaries, I believe factors such as geographical size, population distribution, the number of longhouses, geographical and logistical challenges, as well as the development needs of rural areas, deserve equal consideration alongside the number of voters,” he stressed.
The Tamin assemblyman also urged the EC to give due consideration to the proposal during the public exhibition period.
At the same time, he encouraged community leaders, village chiefs, non-governmental organisations and residents throughout the Selangau parliamentary constituency to use the public exhibition process to voice their support for the creation of DUN Bukit Arip in the interest of the area’s long-term development. — DayakDaily
