Bill To Increase Number Of Sarawak Assembly Members To Be Tabled July 7

KUCHING, July 5 (Bernama) -- A Bill to increase the number of members in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly will be tabled during a special sitting on July 7, in response to a sharp rise in voter numbers and changing public expectations.

Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar said the surge in voters followed the lowering of the voting age to 18, which has significantly reshaped the state’s political and constituency landscape since 2014.

“This, in turn, has raised public expectations and created a new political landscape for leaders and elected representatives. The size of both parliamentary and state constituencies in Sarawak is vast and increasingly challenging to manage,” he said at a press conference here today.

He said the proposed legislation, titled Dewan Undangan Negeri (Composition of Membership) Bill 2025, will be tabled by Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

All three readings of the Bill are scheduled to take place on the same day, he added.

Mohamad Asfia noted that the last increase in the assembly’s composition was in 2014 and that under Article 113(2) of the Federal Constitution, such changes may be made after a period of eight years.

The Sarawak Legislative Assembly currently comprises 82 members.

-- BERNAMA