00:10Hi, welcome back to Consider This. Sarawak is set to increase its number of state seats
00:17from 82 to 99, but scrutiny is growing over how the process is unfolding amid claims of
00:24political parties already positioning themselves for the new seats.
00:28So what safeguards are needed to ensure that electoral boundaries are drawn in the public
00:34interest? Joining me on the show to discuss this further is Geoffrey Tung, who is President
00:39of the Civil Action Group Persatuan Pemankin Daya Masyarakat, better known as ROSE. Geoffrey,
00:44thank you so much for being on the show with me today. What are the main concerns that civil
00:49society groups have, like ROSE? What concerns do you have about the way this redelineation
00:55process is unfolding?
00:58First of all, we need to take notice that Sarawak is growing and fair representation is important.
01:06But for us as a civil society, the main important part is the process. So the Election Commission,
01:15EC, must be independent in that sense. So we cannot be seen, we hope and we want EC cannot
01:23be seen as following instruction from any state authority or anybody with political interest.
01:32So because for us, once the process lack of transparency, it creates risk. So risk can be risk of corruption,
01:42risk of undue influence, even from powerful or corporate links, you know, like corporate mafia nowadays,
01:49that may not reflect what ordinary Sarawakian needs. So there is also a growing perception that decision may already
01:59been shaped before proper consultation, like now. So once the perception is there, trust starts to erode.
02:08So at Sarawak NGO, we love Sarawak so much, we should be first to say, our future must be shaped
02:16by fair
02:17system and not by hidden influence. Yeah.
02:21Okay. So right now, the Sarawak State Assembly has agreed to the new seats. But what you're saying is that
02:29nothing is confirmed until the EC releases its report of any new constituencies. Can I get a better
02:37understanding of what you'll be watching? When the EC eventually releases its report, what are you going to be
02:44looking out for in those proposed maps?
02:49I wouldn't say any specific area or constituency. We have been waiting and waiting ever since the sudden
02:59call for Dune sitting on 7th of July, 2025. And we have numerous of elections and we will have
03:09Sabah election, then we have New Year, we have Christmas, then we have a lot of holidays, we have Chinese
03:15New Year.
03:17Our main concern, our main area, when the maps are released, we don't know when, hopefully it's very soon
03:24because after Hariaya, after Easter, then we do not have much holiday. So we hope the map will be released
03:31soon.
03:32So we are looking at a few key areas, a few key things. Number one is the fairness, fairness in
03:40voter size.
03:41Because constituencies should be not extremely unequal, without strong justification.
03:49Meaning to say they need to be more or less the same number of voters. Secondly, due to our Sarawak
04:00ethical group, we need to respect for local ties and communities.
04:04Boundaries should reflect real communities, especially in rural and in both indigenous areas.
04:15And the third is the most important, which is the transparency.
04:19So we hope EC will come in and explain clearly and be transparent on how they come with the decision
04:30of how they draw the boundaries.
04:33Importantly, we also need to look where the voters actually are because election is all basically all about voters.
04:41So we are not talking about land size and non-electorals.
04:47So today, we have about 2 million voters, 2 million plus. It depends when is the role.
04:542 million plus voters. So at the current status, we have about 58% of our voters staying and living
05:06in urban,
05:10like Puching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu. These are major ones in Sarawak.
05:16So naturally, a question arises, when you have 58% of the voters based or staying in urban,
05:22does that mean that 58% of the seats should be urban as well?
05:27So the answer is not that simple, Melissa.
05:29So we recognize that Sarawak geography is big, like it's huge.
05:35So rural area needs representation, but due to size, accessibility and service delivery challenges.
05:46At the same time, urban voter, this is very important for fair representation.
05:51Urban voters must not be underrepresented to the point where their votes carry significant less weight.
06:00Yeah. So what we need is a balance, you know, it should be largely reflect population,
06:06but not to be stretched too far from fairness.
06:12So that's why we are suggesting EC need to set a clear standard.
06:19We have been talking about this, a clear standard, and that is very important.
06:24Because for the past few delineations, we do not see election commission EC setting any standards.
06:33So let's start with this Sarawak delineation.
06:35For this Sarawak delineation, we hope, Rose's perspective, is we propose that EC should start putting a standard of,
06:46let's start with something more practical.
06:49Start with plus minus 33% deviation guidelines.
06:53Because without a clear standard, fairness becomes subjective.
06:57Right.
06:58We do not want to.
06:59Yeah.
06:59Sorry to interrupt.
07:00I'm just going to ask you what happens if the EC comes out with their proposed map,
07:08and it's very similar to the leaked map that has been circulating amongst political parties.
07:17Is there any recourse for Sarawak voters to challenge the EC proposed boundaries?
07:26Of course, if the final map, if the final map turns to be very similar or somehow similar to what
07:32had been leaked or circulated viral around,
07:35people will naturally ask a simple question.
07:37It may give an impression that consultation is just a formality only.
07:43No, when that happens, people start wondering who really benefit all these things.
07:47So we must avoid any perception that boundaries with alienation are shaped by political convenience or even by corporate linked
07:55interests.
07:56So we need to make sure that it's fair to Sarawakian.
08:00So that's how, because even a technical, very technical sound map can lose legitimacy if the process is not trusted.
08:12So we still go back to the process.
08:14Can Sarawak voters, do Sarawak voters have a say in the process?
08:22Can Sarawak voters be more actively involved in the process?
08:27Is there anything they should be doing now?
08:28So what Rose has been evocating out is that we believe that a lot of people, a lot of voters,
08:36do not realise that the public or the voters themselves has a role to play in this.
08:41So when the map are published, when the map is published, there will be a formal objection period.
08:48So what do Sarawak can, what can Sarawak can do?
08:51So they need to pay attention when it comes out.
08:54Look carefully at the constituency, what have moved, what have shift, what have changed.
08:58So there's a, there's a thing called review process.
09:02So the review process include two rounds of public hearing, public notice and submission of objection.
09:09So public can actually go to, register to our social media, to our Rose Facebook or TikTok or IG, sign
09:17up as an objector.
09:19So we will form a group of 100 people to submit an objection, ideally together as a community of that
09:25particular affected community, affected room or constituency.
09:30So each objector of 100 can send in representatives to present the local inquiry for 30 minutes.
09:37Yeah. So this is one of the very few moments where public participation directly shapes representation.
09:44But even if you cannot get 100 people or objectives to sign up, you can still send in representation, but
09:51you do not have the opportunity.
09:52The only thing is you do not have the opportunity for the local inquiry, but it still can be done,
09:57still can be heard.
09:58And all these things will be recorded and easy had to do explanation and, and, and give an explanation thereafter.
10:05Remember, if we stay silent, if we leave the, we will leave the space for decision to be made without
10:12enough scrutiny.
10:13So that's when system become vulnerable to influence. Yeah.
10:17So it's very important that, uh, we believe Sarawak deserve the best standards of governance.
10:23Uh, we want to, to have Sarawak, um, to help Sarawak and we demand Sarawak to have fair, transparent and,
10:32uh, good for our state.
10:34Yeah.
10:35Jeffrey, thank you so much for being on the show with me and sharing those perspectives on behalf of many
10:41throughout voters.
10:41I'm sure are concerned, uh, about the issues that you've raised tonight.
10:45That was Jeffrey Tang from Persatuan Pemakindaya Masyarakat, better known as ROSE, wrapping up this episode of Consider This.
10:52I'm Melissa Idris signing off for the evening. Thank you so much for watching and good night.
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