Sarawak State Legislative Assembly

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak Gempuru Besai Menua Sarawak 砂拉越邦议会 / 砂拉越邦議會
19th Assembly
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	8 September 1867
Leadership
Yang di-Pertua Negeri	Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar since 26 January 2024
Speaker	Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, GPS–PBB since 15 November 2000
Deputy Speaker	Idris Buang, GPS–PBB since 11 February 2022
Premier	Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg[1], GPS–PBB since 13 January 2017
Opposition Leader	Chong Chieng Jen, PH–DAP since 20 November 2023
Structure
Seats	82
Political groups	(As of 6 April 2024[update]) Government (79)   GPS (79)   PBB (47)   SUPP (13)   PRS (11)   PDP (8) Confidence and supply (1)   Independent (1) Opposition (2)   PH (2)   DAP (2)
Committees	6 Rules of Proceedings and Elections Committee Public Accounts Committee Assembly Committee Public Petitions Committee Privileges Committee DUN Events Committee
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	18 December 2021
Next election	By 15 April 2027
Meeting place
New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building, Petra Jaya, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Website
duns.sarawak.gov.my

The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Sarawak; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak forms the other part of the legislature. The Assembly is modelled after the traditions of the Westminster parliamentary system, which originates from the practices of the British Parliament. The executive branch of government is drawn from the elected members of the Assembly. The State Legislative Assembly sits at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building located in Petra Jaya in Kuching, the state capital.

The Legislative Assembly, as of 2019, consists of 82 members, making it the largest state legislature in Malaysia. Members are elected from single-member constituencies throughout the state under the first-past-the-post voting system, with elections held no more than five years apart. Sarawak does not practice compulsory voting, and eligible citizens are not automatically registered to vote in elections. Elections for the Assembly have been out-of-sync with the rest of Malaysia since 1978.

The Assembly is also the oldest legislature in Malaysia and one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world, being established on 8 September 1867 as the General Council under the Raj of Sarawak. In 1903, the General Council became the Council Negri (lit. 'State Council'),^[2] which lasted through the remainder of the Raj and continued throughout the colonial period and into the early years of the federation. However, the legislature was not directly elected until 1969.^[3]

The executive is formed by the party or parties who commands the confidence and supply of the Assembly, with the leader of said party or parties becoming the Premier, the head of government of the state. The formal appointment of the Chief Minister is performed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri. Since 2018, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak coalition holds a majority in the Assembly, after the component parties split from the Barisan Nasional coalition in the aftermath of the general election. Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg has been the Chief Minister since 2017.