KUCHING: The Election Commission (EC) has received 18 objections so far on the proposed redelineation of Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) constituencies, mainly involving changes to polling districts between constituencies.
EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said the objections were received from across the state, with some also raising issues concerning the names of DUN constituencies.
“As of yesterday, based on the online representations we received, a total of 18 objections have been received. We will detail the objections later,” he said.
He said this to reporters after visiting the exhibition venues for the proposed Sarawak State Constituency Redelineation Review at Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) lobby here, today.
He said among the areas mentioned in the objections were Sarikei, Bintulu and Sibu, although he did not have a specific breakdown of the figures.
Ramlan said the EC would evaluate all objections received following the display of the proposed redelineation, which began on Sept 1 and will end on Sept 30.
“So far, we have not received any support. Usually, we receive objections. We still have another week, so we hope more people will provide their views regarding the proposed redelineation,” he said.
On the principles used to determine the proposed boundaries, Ramlan said the EC considered several factors, including the number of voters, geographical conditions and locality.
“Each principle is unique according to the DUN and the area. We cannot apply one principle to all areas,” he said.
Ramlan said some constituencies under the proposed redelineation could have fewer than 10,000 voters due to specific factors that needed to be considered.
“Sometimes the area is small and the number of voters is not large, but the area needs to be retained because of factors that have to be considered, including the need to have a group represented in the State Legislative Assembly,” he said.
He said the EC would assess the objections after the Sept 30 deadline before proceeding with a second display, in accordance with the established process.
“We will evaluate them and subsequently conduct a second display after this before our recommendations are finalised,” he said.
On whether the exercise could have implications for parliamentary boundaries, Ramlan said this would depend on proposed constitutional amendments related to Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He said the federal government had previously indicated that a study would put forward proposed constitutional amendments, which could subsequently lead to a review of parliamentary boundaries, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.
“It does not necessarily have to wait for the DUN process to be completed. It depends on the constitutional amendments being prepared in relation to the matter,” he said.
