KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Information Chief, Datuk Snowdan Lawan, has questioned the delay in parliamentary approval for Sarawak’s proposed 17 additional state seats ahead of the state election due this year.
He said there was widespread disappointment among political circles in Sarawak following indications that the additional seats, approved by the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) in July 2025, would not be available for contest in the upcoming state election.
According to Snowdan, many had anticipated that the next state election would see an increase in the number of state constituencies from 82 to 99 following the DUN’s approval of the additional seats.
However, he noted that after three parliamentary sittings, the proposal was unlikely to be tabled during the current parliamentary session.
Snowdan said this in response to media reports quoting PBB’s Information Chief, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who had expressed disappointment that the bill on the 17 additional state seats, despite being passed by the Sarawak DUN, was unlikely to receive parliamentary endorsement this year.
“The person in question here is Malaysia’s Law Minister. After three sittings why was there no concrete effort to get the bill endorsed? What probably are the issues that hinder that endorsement? The electorates deserve explanation,” he said in a statement today.
Snowdan said the Election Commission (EC) would have been notified when the Sarawak DUN approved the bill in 2025 and questioned the time taken to initiate the necessary redelineation and constitutional processes.
“The EC would have been notified when the DUN approved the bill way back in 2025. Just how much time does EC requires for them to spring into action to get the redelineation and constitutional process completed including the display, feedbacks and objection periods,” he said.
He also questioned the delay at the parliamentary level.
“Similarly the Parliament shouldn’t buy time denying the state’s electorate for a wider and well spread electorates,” he said.
Snowdan said the Sarawak Government had pursued the increase in constituencies in recognition of the state’s vast geographical size and to better serve the people through improved representation and development planning.
“Knowing that Sarawak is huge, the state government embarked on increasing the number of the constituencies. That homework was undertaken believing it befits the people logistically as well as considering the state development and people centric agendas,” he said.
He added that Sarawak’s disappointment over the stalled process was justified.
“Now that the process is stalled at Parliament level, Sarawak’s disappointment is valid. Just what has decapitated the whole process, Sarawak demand and deserve explanation,” he added.
