Sarawak Legislative Assembly passes Bill to increase elected members from 82 to 99

By Ashley Sim & Shikin Louis

KUCHING, July 7: The Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) has passed the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill, 2025, which seeks to increase the number of elected members in the DUS from 82 to 99.

Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who tabled the Bill, described it as the largest seat increase undertaken in the State’s history and a move that would ensure fairer representation across Sarawak’s vast and diverse constituencies.

“I feel very privileged to table this Bill. This is likely the largest increase we have done and possibly the last one for the next 10 years or more,” he told the august House during the Bill’s third reading today.

Abdul Karim, who is also Minister for Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development, pointed out that the Bill was in line with Sarawak’s broader aspirations, including increasing its parliamentary representation under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) framework, which seeks one-third representation for Sabah and Sarawak in the Dewan Rakyat.

“If there is any request to increase the number of parliamentary seats, it must also be reflected in the increase of State seats.

“Hopefully, with the adoption of this Bill today, it will be reflected in Parliament later,” he said, adding that redelineation of State and Federal constituencies has always been conducted concurrently in accordance with the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

In response to criticism from Padungan assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen that the increase of DUS seats by over 20 per cent was costly and unnecessary, Abdul Karim cited international precedent.

“In 2024, the Welsh Parliament passed a Bill to increase their constituencies from 60 to 96—a 60 per cent increase.

“Geographically, Sarawak is about six times larger than Wales, yet we are only proposing a 20 per cent increase,” he explained.

He said Wales and Sarawak have comparable populations, 3.16 million in Wales and an estimated 2.9 million in Sarawak as of 2024, therefore it is only reasonable for Sarawak to be afforded similar representation.

Abdul Karim thanked all assemblypersons for their constructive participation and support in the debate and expressed his appreciation to Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg for entrusting him with the responsibility of tabling the Bill.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Abdul Karim said the next step lies with the Election Commission (EC) to determine the delineation of new seats. Additionally, the proposed changes would also need to be tabled and approved in Parliament.

“Hopefully with all the delineation that is going to be conducted by EC, we would be able to see it being used in the next State Election,” he said.

He added that since Sarawak has now created 17 new State seats, it would be easier for the EC to propose a corresponding increase in parliamentary constituencies.

“Most parliamentary seats in Sarawak now comprise two or three State seats. With 17 new State seats, there might be at least eight new parliamentary seats, or even more.

“If Sabah and Sarawak have a large number of State seats, there will naturally be more parliamentary seats. And if there are more, we will be approaching that one-third figure under MA63,” he added.

On the argument raised by opposition members that Parliament seats should be increased before State seats, Abdul Karim said such reasoning was misleading.

“They say only Parliament has the right to do this—that is incorrect. We have done this four or five times before. This process of increasing State seats has gone through without objection in the past. So why suddenly now?” he questioned.

He also dismissed accusations of gerrymandering, saying the delineation process is under the purview of the EC, not the Sarawak government.

“We only determine the addition of seats, not where they are. So when you accuse us of gerrymandering, are you accusing the EC, which is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, of being unfair?” he said.

Commenting on claims that the Sarawak Constitution limits the number of ADUNs to 108, Abdul Karim clarified that neither the Federal nor State Constitution sets a fixed or exhaustive cap.

“There is no static number. Things change. Every eight years, a review can be done. The last was in 2014, 11 years ago. So we are within reason,” he said.

On why 17 new seats were proposed, Abdul Karim said the number 99 was deliberately chosen as the highest possible two-digit figure.

“If we add more, we will cross into three digits and we don’t want it to look like we’re competing with Parliament. Ninety-nine is already a good, solid number. Besides, we have to consider how many seats the Dewan can physically accommodate,” he added.

He acknowledged that the absolute upper limit could be 108 seats, but added: “Let’s not make it too cramped. What we have now is practical.” — DayakDaily

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