KUCHING: No decision has been made on how the proposed 17 additional seats in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) will be distributed, said Sarawak Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Abdul Karim said claims circulating on social media that specific numbers of seats had already been allocated to certain political parties within Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) were inaccurate and baseless.
“I have seen those claims too, but there are no seats yet, and we do not even know where the new constituencies will be,” he told reporters at a media conference after launching the Borneo Global Meditourism Congress and Expo at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching here today.
The speculation suggested that 10 of the proposed seats would be allocated to Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), while the remaining seats would be allocated to other component parties, such as the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP).
Abdul Karim dismissed the claim, stressing that the proposal to increase the number of DUN seats from 82 to 99 is still awaiting Parliament’s approval.
“The proposal has been approved by the State Legislative Assembly. The next step is for Parliament to endorse it,” he said.
Once parliamentary approval is obtained, the Election Commission will undertake a redelineation process to determine the locations of the new constituencies.
“The authorities will have to go to the ground, present their proposals and allow the public to give feedback before any final decision is made,” he said.
Abdul Karim added that the composition of the 17 additional seats has yet to be decided, and any claims to the contrary are mere speculation.
“It is possible that such information was spread deliberately to create division among parties within GPS,” he said, adding that such attempts could be the work of irresponsible parties or “cyber troopers”.
He also said the Sarawak Government hopes the proposal can be tabled in Parliament as soon as possible.
According to him, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof, had previously indicated that the matter could be tabled in Parliament in July.
“If possible, we want it earlier, but even if it is tabled in July, we hope that by the end of the year the new seats can be used in the next election,” he said.
Abdul Karim explained that Parliament only needs to endorse the proposal already approved by the Sarawak Legislative Assembly.
“The DUN is the highest law-making body in the state, and the motion was passed with overwhelming support, with only two opposition members reported to have opposed it,” he said.
He also emphasised that the Sarawak Government does not have the authority to increase parliamentary seats, but only the power to propose adding state legislative seats.
“That is why when I tabled the motion in the DUN, it was only for the addition of state seats. If the process goes smoothly, Parliament only needs to endorse it,” he added.
