Sarawak DAP is warning the Election Commission (EC) of multiple legal actions if it continues to be unfair over its redelineation exercise to increase the Sarawak state assembly seats from 71 to 82.

“What the EC is doing now is not fair and that is why we object to it,” said Sarawak DAP Chief Chong Chieng Jen when submitting the party’s objections and recommendations to EC office at Sultan Iskander building in Kuching yesterday.

While waiting for the decision of the judicial review filed by Sarawak PKR to declare the notice of redelineation exercise null and void, Chong ( below ) - who is MP for Bandar Kuching and assemblyperson for Kota Sentosa - told newsmen that legal action against the EC was possible.

“I can tell you the Election Commission will face multiple court actions. It will not be plain sailing for EC unless what it is doing is fair and reasonable," he said.

Sarawak DAP submitted five objections and recommendations to the EC including two from Sibu and Lanang parliamentary constituencies.

It wants the Market and Bazaar polling districts removed from the Padungan state seat and be included in the Satok state seat in order to make the number of voters in the two state seats more or less balanced. It also recommended the creation of the new state seat of Tabuan Jaya and the new parliamentary seat of Sungai Maong.

Said Chong: “We are proposing that a new seat be created for Tabuan Jaya should comprise four polling districts from Pending state seat namely Kenyalang, Supreme, Chong Kiun Kong and Simpang Tiga and two polling districts from Batu Lintang namely Tabuan Jaya and Tabuan Laru.

“The reason for the creation of this new seat is because the average number of voters per state seat is 13,526. At the moment Pending has 30,881 while Batu Lintang has 24,614 voters both way above the average,” he said.

'Fair and reasonable' call

The proposed Tabuan Jaya seat would have 19,894 voters, while Pending would still have some 20,315 voters and Batu Lintang 15,312 voters.

On DAP’s proposal to create the Sungai Maong parliamentary seat, Chong said  that it would cater for Batu Lintang and Kota Sentosa state seats with the the total number of voters at 38,558.

He said the Bandar Kuching parliamentary constituency would then consist of the state constituencies of Padungan, Pending and the newly created Tabuan Jaya seat with 58,500 voters.

DAP also suggested the Stampin parliamentary seat should cater for voters from the Batu Kitang and Batu Kawah state seats which would give it 39,750 voters.

Chong pointed out that the average number of voters per parliamentary seat in Sarawak was 36,779 voters.

He said that Stampin currently has 60,997 voters, while Bandar Kuching has 78,398 voters as compared to the parliamentary seats of Lubok Antu, Igan, Tanjung Manis, Kanowit and Lawas which have less than 20,000 voters.

Chong said he hoped the EC would be  fair and reasonable with DAP’s objections and recommendations.