COMMENT | Pahang’s abrupt amendment of its state constitution to create five “nominated” seats alongside the original 42 “elected” seats, bringing the total to 47, has caused the opposition to walk out in protest.

Pahang, however, is not the first. Unelected members are also found in Sabah and Terengganu. Expect more states to follow and understand what this is all about before you decide to support or protest.

Non-constituency lawmakers

“Nominated members” (in Malay, “ahli dilantik”) is the term used in Malaysia and some Commonwealth countries, including Singapore and Kenya, for lawmakers who are appointed without representing a particular constituency.

Generically, they are a subset of “non-constituency lawmakers”, who represent a nation, a state or a large constituency and thus have no specific constituencies...