SARAWAK may eventually need more than 99 elected representatives to keep pace with the state’s growing administrative and political responsibilities.
When debating in support of the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill, 2025, Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How said the current proposal to increase the number of elected members from 82 to 99 is a good start, particularly to cope with the accelerating pace of development in Sarawak since 2014.
“As the state has achieved outstanding financial achievements today as compared to 2014, there is a need for institutional building and transformation to meet the ongoing devolution of administrative, legislative and fiscal autonomy to Sarawak.
“It is imperative to generate the political momentum towards further devolution of those subject matters to Sarawak, in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the Federal Constitution and relevant state laws.
“This is so that the government may better determine how the rights, interests and benefits should be delivered to all Sarawakians and to hold authorities accountable for their delivery,” he said.
See then pointed to Singapore which recently had elected 99 Members of Parliament, saying provisions in the Constitution of Singapore and legislation governing the composition of membership in their Parliament are similar to Article 14 (2) of the Sarawak Constitution and the present Ordinance.
“The small island nation has 99 Members of Parliament in their unicameral parliament, considering the total land area of Singapore is approximately 735.7 square kilometres as at end of Dec 2024, as compared to Sarawak which covers an area of 124,450 sq km, we are 214 times larger.
“If we are to take land size as comparison to determine the need for a nation state to determine their composition of membership, as one honourable member has suggested, one Singaporean MP serves on average a constituency of 7.5 sq km.
“This, compared to our elected representative who serves on average a constituency of 1,517sq. km. Should we therefore have 202 members in this august House or Singapore should have only a single member in their Parliament? Yes, those are factual data but poor references used for determination of the composition of membership in a legislative assembly,” he said.
However, he stressed the composition of membership of a parliament and a state assembly is one determinant factor in the nation building of the particular nation state.
“When Singapore was with us in the big family, in 1963 to1965, their number of MPs was 15, while we had 24 at that time. When Singapore took the inevitable step to take it upon themselves to build their nation-state, the very first step they took was to have a Parliament with 51 members.
“It shows that it is the working of the composition of membership in the legislative House that matters,” he said.
He added besides the effective representation of the diverse Sarawakian communities in the legislature, their involvement and participation in the decision making, policy making to address the needs and aspirations of Sarawak and its people is equally important.
“The members must also serve to examine all issues, scrutinise government actions, provide detailed reports with recommendations to this august House, to also ensure accountability and transparency in government administration.
“Those are the roles and purposes of parliamentary select committees which are crucial for a healthy democracy,” he said.
Drawing comparisons with Westminster, the UK Parliament and Singapore, he said well-functioning select committees are crucial to any healthy democracy.
“In Malaysia, 10 parliamentary special select committees (PSSC) have been formed to assist the government in addressing issues across 29 ministries.
See also called for consideration to amend Article 6 (3) (b) of the Sarawak Constitution to increase the number of State Cabinet (Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri) members.
“Sarawak has turned a new leaf since 2014. It bears upon us in this assembly to take the state to a new, higher and better political plane,” he said.
