Kuching: Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong Wui Wui has called on the Election Commission (SPR) to act impartially and resist political pressure in the ongoing debate over the proposed redelineation of Sarawak’s electoral boundaries.
Yong warned that the proposed increase of 17 State Assembly seats from 82 to 99 is intellectually dishonest for GPS and its component parties, PBB, SUPP, PRS, and PDP, to pretend this is about fair representation when it is plainly about political survival.
“I strongly refute the misleading narrative pushed by Sarawak GPS and its component parties that the proposed increase is a necessary step to increase Sarawak’s parliamentary seats.
“This is a blatant distortion of constitutional facts and exposes the alarming ignorance of GPS leaders and their cyber troopers,” said Violet Yong in a statement.
Violet Yong stated clearly that under Article 46(1) of the Federal Constitution, parliamentary seats can be increased via constitutional amendment, without increasing Sarawak’s state seats. The two are entirely independent processes.
She said, history proves this:
• 1974: Parliament seats increased to 154. The number of state seats in Sarawak remains unchanged at 48.
• 1986: Parliament increased to 177. Sarawak still had 48 seats until 1987.
• 1995: Parliament increased to 192. Sarawak remained at 56 until 1996.
• 2004: Parliament increased to 219. Sarawak had 62 seats until 2005.
• 2005: Sarawak increased its state seats to 71 without any parliamentary increase.
“These examples debunk GPS’s claim. Linking state seat increases to parliamentary seat increases is false, misleading, and legally baseless.
“This latest proposal is not about better representation. It is a politically motivated gerrymandering exercise by GPS to tighten its grip on power just as Sarawak BN did in the past,” she said.
She added, The unfairness is clear:
• Rural seats like Gedong, Sadong Jaya, Pelagus, and Kelaka, each with fewer than 10,000 voters, are carved out to protect GPS’s strongholds.
• Urban constituencies like Pending, Batu Lintang, Kota Sentosa, and Pelawan have 30,000–40,000 voters each, yet remain unsplit and underrepresented.
• One rural vote now carries the weight of three urban votes—a clear breach of the democratic principle of “one person, one vote.”
“This is a deliberate strategy to silence urban voices, which tend to be politically informed, independent, and critical of the GPS rule.
“Sarawakians deserve an electoral system based on genuine demographic realities, not one rigged to keep GPS in power.
“We will not remain silent as our democratic rights are undermined. We will continue to expose manipulation, misrepresentation, and abuse of the redelineation process,” she said.
Therefore, she laid out three key principles that should guide the process:
1. Prioritise splitting overpopulated urban seats such as Pending, Padungan, Batu Lintang, and Pelawan.
2. Reflect actual population growth, not GPS’s political interests.
3. Uphold fairness, transparency, and constitutional integrity.
