PETALING JAYA: The redelineation exercise in Sarawak has begun, says former deputy minister Ramkarpal Singh despite a statement from the Election Commission (EC) that it has not approved the process.
“I stand by what I said in Parliament on Nov 8,” Ramkarpal said when contacted.
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This was in response to the EC informing The Star that it has not approved the start of any redelineation exercise in any state or region in Sarawak, Sabah or the peninsula.
In his remarks to Parliament on Nov 8, Ramkarpal, a former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), said Sarawak had begun its redelineation exercise, which was due this year, as the last review was in 2015.
He said his remarks were in line with the constitutional time frame in Article 113, which states that a redelineation exercise can only start after a period of not less than eight years from the last one.
“Various factors will be considered, after which a report will be submitted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for his consideration.
“As far as I know, the redelineation exercise has already started in Sarawak,” Ramkarpal insisted.
However, he said it was premature for anyone to conclude that there will be an increase in parliamentary seats in Sarawak.
“I am of the view that it is premature to say there will be an increase in the number of seats in Sarawak at this point of time as the EC is in the midst of investigating the necessity of a change in the number of seats in Sarawak.”
