Sarawak's electoral boundary redrawing must end vote inequality

Persatuan Pemangkin Daya Masyarakat (Rose) welcomes the recent affirmation by Azalina Othman Said that the next step in the Sarawak process of redrawing of constituency boundaries now rests with the Electoral Commission, following the decision by the Sarawak Legislative Assembly to increase its membership from 82 seats to 99 in July 2025.

This redrawing exercise must strictly adhere to the constitutional provisions set out in the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, ensuring that the redrawing is fair, non-partisan, and free from gerrymandering and malapportionment, in line with fundamental democratic principles.

Based on the latest available data, Sarawak has about 2,000,000 registered voters as of May 2025. If representation was strictly equal, each assembly seat should have around 20,000 voters.

However, Rose recognises Sarawak’s unique geographical realities, spanning about 124,450 sq km, which may justify some variation in voter numbers between constituencies.

That said, the current level of disparity is unacceptable. For example, constituencies such as Gedong have about 10,000 voters, while urban constituencies like Senadin exceed 73,430 voters.

In simple terms, the vote of a Gedong voter carries seven times more weight than that of a Senadin voter, despite both electing one representative to the Sarawak assembly.

Such extreme discrepancies fundamentally undermine the principle of equal representation.

Full redrawing of boundaries with balanced consideration of geography and community ties: Rose calls for a comprehensive redrawing of all assembly seat boundaries across Sarawak, based on the latest voter and population data at the polling district level. This process should not only focus on the creation of new seats but also include the division of existing polling districts where necessary to achieve fair and effective representation.

This principle is clearly articulated in Section 2(c) of the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, which states that:

“the number of electors within each constituency in a State ought to be approximately equal except that, having regard to the greater difficulty of reaching electors in the country districts and the other disadvantages facing rural constituencies, a measure of weightage for area ought to be given to such constituencies.”

Existing disparities dilute the value of urban votes and erode the democratic principle that each voter’s voice should carry more or less equal weight.

Rose therefore proposes that the Electoral Commission adopts a variation limit of plus or minus 20% from the state average.

While rural constituencies may justifiably have fewer voters due to population density, access, transport and community cohesion issues, such considerations must not result in extreme imbalances.

The gap between the smallest and largest constituencies must be reasonably minimised and constitutionally defensible.

Public participation and capacity building: Rose encourages the Electoral Commission to conduct public roadshows and consultations to actively gather feedback from the people.

In parallel, Rose will independently organise a series of capacity-building workshops to educate concerned people and political party members on the redrawing process, their constitutional rights, and how to submit informed and substantiated objections should boundaries be drawn unfairly or inconsistently with constitutional principles.

The workshops will be held together with Tindak Malaysia as follows:

Once the Electoral Commission publishes its proposed boundaries, Rose will support the public in preparing and submitting formal representations and objections, as provided for under the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution.

We call on all concerned people to participate actively in these training sessions and take ownership of the democratic process. Complaining online without action will not result in fair representation.

This is a critical opportunity for the people of Sarawak to exercise their rights and ensure that every vote carries a fair and equal value in shaping the future of Sarawak. – Rose