KUCHING: The Sarawak government’s plan to increase the number of state assembly seats has long been anticipated.
Political analyst Professor James Chin said that discussions surrounding an increase in state seats had been ongoing for the past two years.
Commenting on the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill 2025, Chin said
the plan to increase the number of seats is nothing new. People have been talking about it for a very long time.
“The only surprise is that initially people are talking about 101 or 102 seats. Now it’s gone down to 99,” he said when contacted by Sarawak Tribune.
The Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania also said that with the Bill now approved by the State Legislative Assembly, the next step lies with the Election Commission (EC).
“Now that the Dewan has approved the number of seats, it is up to the EC to delineate the 99 seats.
“That is really not a problem. The most important thing is the Dewan passing the number of seats,” he said.
Chin also said that the EC functions as the implementation agency, and it is now responsible for carrying out the redelineation to reflect the new number of constituencies.
