THE Election Commission (SPR) does not plan to carry out a review on redelineation of electoral constituencies for Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah as the last study on this to cover an eight-year period is still in effect.
Its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh said however that the commission is evaluating and considering the appropriateness of carrying out a redelineation exercise in Sarawak.
"The new redelineation study can only be done after the expiry of the period from the date of completion of the previous study or when there is an amendment to the composition of the number of members in the Dewan Rakyat or a state legislative assembly," he said.
"For that purpose, the previous demarcation review for Peninsular Malaysia was completed in 2018, while (reviews for) Sarawak and Sabah were completed in 2015 and 2017 respectively," he said in a statement today.
The recommendation for a demarcation review can only be initiated when there is notification to the speaker of the Dewan Rakyat and the prime minister, and a notice is published as provided under Part II, Section 4, Thirteenth Schedule, of the federal constitution, he added.
Abdul Ghani explained that an underlying principle to ensure appropriateness in redelineating a constituency is that voters registered there must find it easier in being able to go out to vote.
The exercise must also be undertaken with care so that the new electoral areas do not cut across state borders.
In early November last year, Ramkarpal Singh, who was then minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), had told the Dewan Rakyat that the redelineation process for Sarawak had already been set in motion.
He said that Sabah would follow suit in 2025, and Peninsular Malaysia in 2026.
"The redelineation process will allow the Election Commission to conduct its studies over two-year periods, following which the findings will be submitted to the prime minister," he had said.
The Vibes reported last year that the EC had submitted a comprehensive report to parliament, complete with details on a major redelineation of electoral boundaries being carried out in Sarawak, in early November.
The portal also reported that at least 10 new parliamentary constituencies were being created for Sarawak, together with at least 20 new state seats there.
Another national online news had quoted Gabungan Parti Sarawak sources as saying that up to 12 new parliamentary seats had been carved out by the EC in the Borneo state.
On December 11, a civil society group had expressed concern that the additional state and parliamentary seats in Sarawak would burden taxpayers financially and would not benefit society if the elected representatives are not effective in serving the constituents.
Rise of Social Efforts Sarawak (ROSE) said current the redelineation 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.
She had 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, January 1, 2024
