KOTA KINABALU: Two new parliamentary constituencies are being proposed for Tawau following a significant increase in the number of voters in the area, says Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan.
The state Youth, Sports and Creative Economy Development Minister said the Tawau voter count, which has exceeded 80,000, highlights the urgent need to reassess the current constituency structure to ensure effective service delivery.
Nizam said the increase in voters not only adds to elected representatives' workload in terms of coverage, but also affects their ability to interact more closely with the grassroots in their constituency.
“The proposal to create two new parliamentary constituencies in Tawau is among the measures that should be considered to ensure each area receives more balanced and comprehensive attention,” he told reporters after attending the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Dewan Masyarakat Tawau on Monday (March 23).
The Apas assemblyman said each constituency should ideally have 40,000 to 50,000 voters to strengthen the relationship between elected representatives and the community.
The current Tawau parliamentary seat comprises three state seats: Apas, Balung and Sri Tanjong.
Nizam, who is also the Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah information chief, added that any restructuring must take into account demographic factors, population density, and local development needs to align with the aspirations of public well-being.
At the same time, he said the proposal must go through official channels, including review by the Election Commission (EC) and approval at the federal level.
Sabah political leaders have been seeking to increase the state’s Parliament seats as vast areas are seeing an increasing number of voters.
