KUCHING: It is evident that the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak has no intention of improving services for the people or envisioning a better future for Sarawak, says Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Batu Kitang Branch secretary Amy Tnay.
In a recent statement, she said the action was shown through DAP’s opposition in increasing the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats, which the party consistently opposes any matters or decisions beneficial to Sarawak’s development, reflecting their typical West Malaysia-centric approach.
“The Sarawak State Assembly merely proposed and passed a bill to increase seats, paving the way for the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) to delineate new constituencies.
“No specific regions were mentioned or finalised for delineation, yet DAP opposes even this initial step, clearly indicating their resistance to increasing Sarawak’s state assembly seats.
“Increasing state assembly seats aligns with the demands of changing times, including urban development and population growth, enabling more effective regional development and public services,” she said.
Tnay added that currently, assemblymen are tasked with overseeing large constituencies with significant populations, often making it challenging to deliver effective development and services throughout their term.
“By dividing densely populated and rapidly developing areas into new constituencies, the original constituency’s scope would be shared by two assemblymen instead of one, thereby enhancing development and services for the people in those areas.
“However, if DAP assemblymen lack the drive to actively bring development and serve the public, the size or population of their constituencies becomes irrelevant.
“On one hand, DAP criticises Sarawak’s inadequate infrastructure, yet on the other, they oppose the state government’s initiatives such as the ART (Autonomous Rapid Transit) system and airport construction.
“They lament the hardships faced by the people but support the federal decision to expand the scope of the Sales and Service Tax (SST),” she said.
“The Sarawak government remains resolute in its stance, not only to increase state assembly seats to foster better development and services for Sarawak and its people but also to increase parliamentary seats to align with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), ensuring Sarawak and Sabah hold one-third of the nation’s parliamentary seats,” she added.