SARAWAK Pakatan Harapan (PH) has told the Election Commission (EC) not to finalise the redelineation of electoral boundaries in Sarawak without first consulting all registered political parties in the state.
State PH information chief Senator Abun Sui Anyit today said the EC cannot be merely consulting the ruling state government of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“I am deeply concerned after hearing claims that GPS people are saying that 12 new parliamentary constituencies have been approved in Sarawak.
“Why is it that other political parties in Sarawak have not been consulted?” he said.
Abun expressed disappointment at EC’s failure to seek their views on the re-delineation exercise. He said the commission’s inaction on this was despite them having called on the agency for discussions beforehand.
“The EC has not held any meeting with us (non-GPS parties) at all.
“The EC must be transparent and must consider all views before making any final decision on the new electoral boundaries,” he said in a statement.
Abun is also the state PKR’s deputy chairman.
The Vibes had last month reported that at least 10 new parliamentary constituencies are being created for Sarawak, together with at least 20 new state seats.
Another national online news yesterday quoted GPS sources as saying that up to 12 new parliamentary seats have been carved out by the EC for Sarawak.
Abun today said the EC must clear the air on this matter.
“The EC must convene an immediate meeting with all registered political parties in Sarawak,” he said.
On December 11, a civil society group had expressed concern that the additional state and parliamentary seats in Sarawak will burden the taxpayers financially and will not benefit society if the elected representatives are not effective in serving the constituents.
Rise of Social Efforts Sarawak (ROSE) said current the re-delineation of electoral boundaries to create new constituencies must bring betterment to the people.
Otherwise, it would be just a futile exercise that only makes politicians happy and not the rakyat, said its president and co-founder Ann Teo.
“The benefit will only come about if the elected YBs are effective in tackling the problems of the rakyat.
“Even now, the Sarawak legislative assembly sits for only 16 days a year.
“How effective is that to highlight and resolve the issues of the rakyat?” she had said.
She had also stressed that the new seats must give better representation to voters based on the population’s needs.
Even now, with 31 parliamentary and 82 state seats, there are rural constituencies where the population is very low and urban constituencies that are overpopulated.
In the last electoral roll, Sarawak had 833,940 voters. With the new automatic registration in place, the state is expected to have 1.9 million voters. – The Vibes, December 15, 2023
