ROSE urges EC to prioritise urban areas in Sarawak redelineation exercise

Borneo Post

3 days ago

KUCHING (July 12): Civil action group Rise of Social Efforts (ROSE) has called on the Election Commission (EC) to prioritise urban and rapidly growing constituencies in Sarawak during its upcoming redelineation exercise, following the recent passage of the Bill to increase the number of state seats.
In a statement, ROSE president Geoffrey Tang said the expansion of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) from 82 to 99 seats must be accompanied by urgent action to uphold the democratic principle of One Person, One Vote, One Value.
He stressed that the EC is constitutionally mandated to follow the principles set out in Section 2, Part 1 of the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which requires that the number of electors in each constituency be approximately equal, with limited exceptions for rural areas that face geographical disadvantages.
'The creation of 17 new seats reduces the average number of voters per constituency to 20,381. However, ROSE notes that at least 21 urban and rapidly growing constituencies far exceed this average, including Pantai Damai, Tupong, Samariang, Pending, Batu Lintang, Kota Sentosa, Batu Kitang, Batu Kawah, Mambong, Muara Tuang, Stakan, Tarat, Repok, Bukit Assek, Dudong, Pelawan, Nangka, Tanjong Batu, Pujut, Senadin, and Lambir.
'All voters in these DUN seats exceed 23,000, with Senadin topping the list at 73,430 voters. If delineation is to be carried out, these urban seats must be given priority,' he said.
Tang urged the EC to begin a transparent, data-driven redelineation process to correct the current imbalance and ensure fairer voter representation.
He also warned that the seat expansion could worsen the existing urban–rural voter disparity if boundaries are not redrawn accordingly.
'Many constituencies in Greater Kuching, Sibu, and Miri now contain more than double the average number of voters, further weakening the political voice of urban populations, particularly young Dayak and Malay voters in fast-growing areas.'
He added that the primary role of an elected representative is to craft and debate sound policies in the Dewan for the benefit of the people, and that merely increasing the number of seats without addressing long-standing imbalances in representation risks entrenching unfairness and eroding public trust in democratic institutions.
As such, he said ROSE will educate the public on the delineation process, including how to become an objector, how to read proposed maps, and how to mobilize communities to organise in groups of at least 100 voters in any affected constituency.
'This is to monitor the redelineation process to ensure it aligns with democratic and constitutional standards,' he said. election commission redelineation Rise of Social Efforts