KUCHING, Jan 24 2026: Persatuan Pemangkin Daya Masyarakat (Rose) has welcomed a recent affirmation by Minister of Law and Institutional Reform Azalina Othman Said that the next step in the Sarawak delineation process now rests with the Election Commission (EC), following the decision by the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (SLA) to increase its membership from 82 seats to 99 seats in Julyl last year. .jpg)
It said the redelineation exercise must strictly adhere to the constitutional provisions set out in he 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, ensuring that the redrawing of boundaries is fair, non-partisan, and free from gerrymandering and malapportionment, in line with fundamental democratic principles.
Rose sad based on the latest available data, Sarawak has approximately 2,000,000 registered voters as of May 2025.
“If representation were strictly equal, each SLA constituency should have around 20,000 voters,” it said in a statement.
However, it recognises Sarawak’s unique geographical realities, spanning approximately 124,450 square kilometres, which may justify some variation in voter numbers between constituencies.
“That said, the current level of disparity is unacceptable,” Rose said, citing constituencies such as Gedong as an example that has approximately 10,000 voters, while urban constituencies like Senadin exceed 73,430 voters.
“In simple terms, the vote of a Gedong voter carries seven times more weight than that of a Senadin voter, despite both electing one representative to SLA.
“Such extreme discrepancies fundamentally undermine the principle of equal representation,” it stressed.
Rose called for a comprehensive redrawing of all SLA boundaries across Sarawak, based on the latest voter and population data at the polling district level.
It said this process should not only focus on the creation of new seats, but also include the division of existing polling districts where necessary to achieve fair and effective representation.
“This principle is clearly articulated in Section 2(c) of the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which states that the number of electors within each constituency in a State ought to be approximately equal except that, having regard to the greater difficulty of reaching electors in the country districts and the other disadvantages facing rural constituencies, a measure of weightage for area ought to be given to such constituencies.
“Existing disparities dilute the value of urban votes and erode the democratic principle that each voter’s voice should carry more or less equal weight.
“We therefore propose that EC adopts a variation limit of plus or minus 20% from the state average,” it said, adding that while rural constituencies may justifiably have fewer voters due to population density, access, transportation, and community cohesion issues, such considerations must not result in extreme imbalances.
It pointed out that the gap between the smallest and largest constituencies must be reasonably minimised and constitutionally defensible.
It urged EC to conduct public roadshows and consultations to actively gather feedback from citizens, saying that it will independently organise a series of capacity-building workshops to educate concerned citizens and political party members on the redelineation process, their constitutional rights, and how to submit informed and substantiated objections should boundaries be drawn unfairly or inconsistently with constitutional principles.
The workshops will be held together with Tindak Malaysia as follows:
• Bintulu — 24 January
• Kuching — 31 January
• Sibu — 7 February
• Miri — 28 February
• Sri Aman — 7 March
• Bau — 14 March
It said that once EC publishes its proposed boundaries, it will support citizens in preparing and submitting formal representations and objections, as provided for under the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.
“We call on all concerned citizens to participate actively in these training sessions and take ownership of the democratic process.
“Complaining online without action will not result in fair representation. This is a critical opportunity for Sarawakians to exercise their rights and ensure that every vote carries fair and equal value in shaping the future of the state,” Rose said.
No comments:
Post a Comment