KUCHING: The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday gave a reality check on lingering questions over whether the 17 new Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats will be in place anytime soon.
EC member Dr Mohd Faisal Syam Abdol Hazis said it was presently at the fourth step of a 16-step process.
Explaining, he said that the entire re-delineation review must strictly adhere to the procedures outlined under the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, rather than the commission’s internal standard operating procedures.
He said the EC cannot guarantee whether the 17 new seats will be ready in time for the upcoming Sarawak State Election due to the remaining constitutional steps involved.
“When people ask whether it will be in time or not, we have a two-year window to complete the process at the EC level.
“After that, it is in the hands of the Prime Minister, and we also do not know when the DUN will be dissolved,” he explained.
He said this during a briefing on the Sarawak re-delineation review with the EC organised by the Rise of Social Efforts (ROSE) on Tuesday night.
He noted that the EC has already completed the first three steps – preparing the initial recommendations, notifying the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Prime Minister, and issuing a gazette notice on Sept 1 to launch the first public display.
Moreover, Mohd Faisal stated that feedback and representations from the public display that meet the official criteria will proceed to a local inquiry.
The EC will then review the draft proposal based on these inquiries, and if any amendments or improvements are made, a second public display will be held.
The EC’s role in the exercise concludes once the final report is submitted to the Prime Minister following the completion of the public displays and local inquiries.
He noted that the constitutionally mandated two-year timeframe applies strictly to the EC’s scope of work.
“Once the final report is handed over, the Prime Minister holds the responsibility of tabling it in Parliament to secure approval through a simple majority—a process that takes place in Parliament rather than the Sarawak DUN,” he said.
The current Sarawak DUN will automatically dissolve on Feb 14, 2027, unless dissolved earlier.
