THE status of 17 new Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats approved at last year's mid-term session remains unclear, with the Election Commission (EC) yet to indicate if the redelineation exercise can be completed before polls are called.
Sarawak DUN Speaker, Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, said that the EC has not yet announced whether the redelineation process can be completed before the state election.
"Months have passed with no word on whether the 17 new seats will be in time for the election,” he told a press conference after chairing the pre-council meeting ahead of the DUN sitting in Kuching.
Mohamad Asfia said that the Sarawak State Assembly had previously passed the Bill relating to the addition of 17 new seats at the July 7 sitting last year.
He said that the matter could not be reopened or reconsidered in this sitting in accordance with the State Assembly Standing Orders.
"What the State Assembly has decided on a matter in the same session cannot be reopened and reconsidered in accordance with Standing Orders 32(3)," he said.
According to him, the motion was passed unanimously following the absence of both opposition elected representatives during the sitting.
Citing the State Assembly Standing Orders, he said that any matter that the House had decided in the current session should not be reconsidered except through a substantive motion for rescission.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Asfia said that the EC still had time from a constitutional perspective to complete the redelineation process.
However, he said the EC needed to take into account that Sarawak was preparing for its election.
"The EC should be mindful that Sarawak is preparing for a state election," he said.
He also stressed that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) did not have a representative in the EC.
"GPS does not have any members or representatives in the EC. I was informed that there is only one member from Sarawak, and he is not from GPS.
"The EC needs to be dynamic, proactive and energetic because in today's fast-moving world, all parties need to move forward to remain relevant," he added.
Earlier, Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the EC would have the final authority in determining the locations of the 17 proposed new DUN seats.
He explained that while the state government had proposed the increase, the responsibility to identify and delineate the constituencies rests solely with the EC, after Parliament approves the constitutional amendment.
The proposal aims to improve representation in Sarawak, given its vast geographical size, with the additional seats increasing the total number of assemblymen from 82 to 99.
“The last redelineation exercise in Sarawak was conducted in 2015, so the time is right for a review,” he said. – May 9, 2026
