(Miri, 12th) Miri Member of Parliament Chiew Choon Man issued a statement saying that he is paying close attention to the Sarawak government's proposal to increase state assembly seats from 82 to 99, and also agrees with the public's concerns about the timing and fairness of the exercise. He stressed that in the pursuit of more effective public service, priority should be given to strengthening governance at the local level, instead of simply increasing the number of seats.
Chiew Choon Man pointed out that if the goal of increasing seats is to reduce the workload of current state assemblypersons and bring the government closer to the people, then the Sarawak government should consider empowering local community leaders and municipal councillors, rather than spending large amounts of public funds on allowances and allocations for new seats.
"In states such as Selangor and Penang, the treatment received by municipal councillors allows them to perform their duties full-time or nearly full-time, and some are provided with small allocations to organize community activities and handle grassroots affairs. This system has proven the feasibility of improving grassroots governance."
He suggested that the government should invest similar resources into improving the treatment of local community leaders and municipal councillors, and provide them with appropriate discretionary allocations, so that people regardless of political background are willing to serve the community and focus on grassroots affairs.
"Since municipal councillors are appointed positions, a transparent and effective supervision mechanism should be established to ensure that while allowances are raised, there are also performance indicators as the measurement standard."
Chiew Choon Man stated that if the local governance level can be effectively strengthened, a clearer and more efficient division of responsibilities can be established: municipal councillors can focus on handling daily municipal affairs and community feedback, state assemblypersons can focus on legislation and state development matters, and parliamentarians can deal with national and international affairs—thus reducing overlap of functions and responding to public opinion more quickly.
"Sarawak has always prided itself on inclusiveness and fairness. Before redrawing electoral boundaries, we should uphold this same spirit, prioritizing solidifying the systems of governance closest to the people, and ensuring that any redelineation is based on principles of fairness and equal representation."
He called on the state government to invest in improving local governance capacity and to widely consult stakeholders across party lines and government levels, so as to achieve a truly fair representative system and an efficient public service system, for the well-being of all Sarawakians.