Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen said the state party, which forms part of the opposition in Sarawak, hopes to contest 15 seats if the number of constituencies remains at 82 or 18 if the state assembly is expanded to 99 seats.

In July, the Sarawak legislative assembly passed a bill to increase the number of seats in the assembly from 82 to 99, with the ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak saying the increase was necessary to accommodate population growth, urban sprawl and vast rural areas.

Sarawak DAP currently holds two seats, Padungan, where Chong is the assemblyman, and Pending, held by Violet Yong.

Chong said “the necessary checks and balances and the alternative voices of the people will not be heard and respected if we only have two (seats) in the 82-member assembly,” Dayak Daily reported.

Chong said DAP’s aim at the next elections was not about changing the government, but about safeguarding democracy and protecting the people’s rights.

He said DAP remained the “only consistent and credible opposition force in Sarawak”. There were parties which often claimed to be in the opposition, only to defect to the ruling coalition after winning seats, he said.

“Their contest as opposition candidates is only a ticket for them to join GPS if they win.”

DAP contested 24 state assembly seats at the state polls in 2021, and won two, compared to the seven secured in the previous elections.

In December last year, Chong said the party wanted to win more seats to form a stronger check and balance in the state legislative assembly, adding that Sarawak had, over the years, benefitted from a stronger opposition in the state.

Elections for a new state assembly must be held by April 2027 at the latest.