Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak, in a statement, said the DPT BLN4/2022 contained the names of 38,786 citizens aged 18 years and above from June 1 to 30, 2022, who were automatically registered as new voters. — Malay Mail photo
SIBU (Oct 31): The 49.79 per cent female Sarawakian voters have been urged to exercise their rights this coming 15th General Election (GE15).
Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng, in making this call, said female voters play an equally pivotal role as their male counterparts.
“The 49.79 per cent of state voters are women and it is equally important to garner their support to shape our future Sarawak,” he told reporters after officiating at the Sarawak Central Region Single Mothers Association’s (Pitwits) health screening drive cum culinary workshop here yesterday.
“With the 35 per cent parliamentary seats allocated for Sabah and Sarawak, we need to have a strong mandate from Sarawakians in order for Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to have a bigger voice in the Parliament and to get back what belongs to Sarawak, according to Malaysia Agreement 1963,” he stressed.
“But we need to remember that it is only agreed in the committee (Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963), but has yet to pass through the parliament,” he added.
It was recently reported that restoring the 35 per cent East Malaysia’s parliamentary seats from the overall number was among the key issues discussed at the fifth Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MKMA63) meeting in Putrajaya.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, in disclosing this, said the issue was deliberated and endorsed by the MKMA63.
Of the 222 parliamentary seats, 166 or 75 per cent are in Peninsula Malaysia while the remaining 25 per cent or 56 seats are for the Borneo states, with 31 for Sarawak and Sabah 25.