The latest delineation of electoral constituencies is widely seen as a move that will further consolidate the political power and control of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, according to political analysts in the state.

In power since 1981 when he took over as chief minister from his uncle Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub, his Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) is now seen as the biggest beneficiary of the eight new state seats and three parliamentary seats.

PBB, the backbone of the state's ruling coalition, controls 30 of the 62 state assembly seats. The rest, except for one which is held by the Democratic Action Party, are distributed among the other state BN parties viz the Sarawak United People's Party, Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party and Parti Rakyat Sarawak.

If the proposal on the new seats is approved, PBB is widely expected to take the lion's share - with its Malay/Melanau/Muslim wing likely to take at least three (Lingga, Daro and Bekenu) and its Dayak (Iban/Orang Ulu/Bidayuh) wing at least one (Bukit Saban).

The voter/racial make-up in several 'old' constituencies will also change, with at least two becoming Malay/Muslim majority seats (Tanjung Datu and Bukit Kota (old name Limbang) which are likely to go to PBB too.

What this means is that in the enlarged state legislative assembly the PBB ranks will be further reinforced by at least six additional seats to 36, giving it a majority of one in the 70-seat house.

If remnants of the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) are eventually admitted into the party, PBB's number will be further increased to 38, with the inclusion of the state assemblypersons for Belaga Stanley Ajang and Ngemah Gabriel Adit.

That will leave four of the remaining new eight seats to be distributed among Supp, SPDP and PRS which will one or two each.

Even the three new parliamentary seats (Igan, Sibuti and Limbang) are likely to go mostly to PBB, further increasing the party's share from the present 11 to at least 13 or 14 seats.

Absolute control

Igan is Malay/Melanu majority seat, Sibuti is Kadayan/Melanau majority seat too, and Limbang is Malay majority seat.

Allocation of Malay/Melanau/Muslim majority seats usually goes to PBB and Malay/Muslim voters are also seen to hold sway in some marginal seats.

Opposition State Reform Party (Star) president Dr Patau Rubis told malaysiakini, "There is little doubt about it - Taib will have more or less absolute control."

Even Patau's old seat, Tasik Biru, has been re-defined with a new advantage given to SPDP's incumbent businessman Peter Nansian in that those voters not with him are shifted to the new state constituency Opar.

"They want to make sure Nansian win," Patau said.

Many members of the Dayak community are reportedly unhappy as their overall electoral representation will shrink from about 40 per cent to 37 per cent, if the new changes are approved.

"Although it would appear they will get a big share of the new seats, in reality when one look at some of the existing constituencies which have been affected by the delineation exercise, we see Dayak majorities reduced significantly in several," one political analyst said.

Both Supp and DAP are studying the proposed changes, but already some of their leaders are admitting it is a hopeless case even to protest and appeal.

Supp Wanita chief Lily Yong , who is Padungan state assemblywoman, was today quoted in local newspapers as saying she regretted that no new constituencies have been created for Kuching.

Earlier this week Election Commission chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said the delineation exercise for Kuching has been postponed but gave no reasons.

Delineation exercise is carried out every eight years.

Urban Kuching has four state seats - Padungan, Pending, Batu Lintang and Batu Kawa which have nearly 30,000 registered voters each.

In the adjoining Malay majority seat of Satok in west Kuching, the electorate is less than 12,000.

EC chief slammed

A senior academic described the value of the different votes this way to malaysiakini: "A Malay vote is worth much more in terms of value compared to non-Malay vote. A rural vote is worth more than an urban vote."

He added that Sarawak and Sabah have a disproportionate representation than Peninsular Malaysia relative to population size.

Based on the analysis of all the characteristics of all state constituencies, there are 29 Dayak seats, 27 Malay/Melanau seats and 14 Chinese seats in an enlarged state assembly.

Dr Andrew Aeria of Unimas said based on his track record the commission chief appeared to be partisan/partial before, during and after elections.

"He does not appear at all to be upholding the Constitution," he added.

On the sizeable number of seats for Sarawak, he described it both a sham and shame to allocate seats purely on the basis of necessity.

"The more important thing is whether the existing elected representatives know their role as law-makers and legislators," he said, adding that the additional seats will not guarantee (they will be play their role as such) and that it will be a drain on state finances.

Meanwhile, state DAP chief Wong Ho Leng told malaysiakini that the party's state committee will meet in two weeks' time, study and collate feedbacks and write to the Election Commission with their comments and objections to the proposed changes within the stipulated one-month period.

According to him, the public can similarly object or protest so long as they can gather the minimum 100 signatures of registered voters in a constituency.

This requirement, however, does not apply to political parties and other bodies registered under the Registrar of Societies.