Sarawaks size requires more assembly seats, says speaker

Asfia Awang Nassar calls for federal understanding, recounts how a helicopter trip required four refuelling stops to cover the Rajang parliamentary seat.

“Sarawak is very big. I hope the federal government and Election Commission understand. Sarawak needs more constituencies,” said the state assembly Speaker, Asfia Awang Nassar in Kuching today.

The state assembly approved a bill in July last year to increase the number of state constituencies from 82 to 99. The matter is now before the EC to study the need for redrawing seat boundaries, and must go to Parliament for approval before it can take effect.

Speaking to reporters at a Hari Raya open house, Asfi hoped that once the EC completes its studies on the proposed delineation, it would receive approval from the federal government.

The redelineation should be based on geographical factors rather than population size, he said.

“Sarawak is very big,” he said. “For example, Bintulu is the largest parliamentary constituency in Sarawak, with one parliamentary seat covering four state assembly constituencies.

“It is too large and should be split into two parliamentary areas,” the Borneo Post quoted him as saying. “It is not practical for one constituency to have four state seats.”

He highlighted the challenges of managing vast constituencies, recalling that in the past, travelling across the Rajang parliamentary area required a helicopter to refuel four times, while Baram required three refuelling stops.

“How can one Member of Parliament manage such a large area? Approval should not be based on population alone, but geography. In coastal areas, for instance, fishermen operate across boundaries, making population-based delineation less practical,” he said.

On March 8, the federal minister for Sabah and Sarawak, Mustapha Sakmud, hoped the EC could expedite its study of the Sarawak proposal.

There are a total of about 600 seats in the 13 state assemblies in Malaysia, most of which are in West Malaysia.

There are 82 state assembly seats in Sarawak, which is Malaysia’s largest region, occupying about 124,450 square kilometers or 37.6% of the total land area.

Sabah, which covers an area of about 74,000 square kilometers, has 73 seats in its state assembly.

There are about 450 seats in the 11 state assemblies of West Malaysia (which covers about 132,000 sq km).