Gerawat Gala

Summary

Datuk Gerawat Gala is the PBB assemblyman for Mulu, Sarawak, a seat he has held since 2016 when he won as a Barisan Nasional direct candidate before joining PBB. He served as Deputy State Assembly Speaker from 2016 to 2021, and since the 12th Sarawak state election — which he won with an increased majority of 2,875 votes — he has served as Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier's Department overseeing labour, immigration, and project monitoring. A lawyer by profession, he has been active on issues including Sarawak's oil rights, labour ordinance reform, and infrastructure and community development in the remote Baram-Mulu area of northern Sarawak.

Biography

Datuk Gerawat Gala is the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) assemblyman for Mulu, a state constituency in northern Sarawak first created in the 2015 electoral redistribution and represented in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly since 2016 [1]). By profession a lawyer, he contested the Mulu seat in the 11th Sarawak state election on 7 May 2016 as a Barisan Nasional direct candidate, winning with a 1,708-vote majority [2][3]. Following that victory, he applied to join PBB, and his application was accepted by then-PBB President and Chief Minister Adenan Satem in August 2016 [2]. During the 18th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (2016–2021), he served as Deputy State Assembly Speaker, presiding over sittings and ruling on procedural matters including the referral of members to the Committee of Privileges [4][5]. He successfully defended the Mulu seat at the 12th Sarawak state election on 18 December 2021, standing under the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) banner and winning with an increased majority of 2,875 votes, polling 3,731 votes against three challengers in a constituency with 9,572 registered voters [6][5]. Following the 2021 election, he was appointed Deputy Minister in the Premier of Sarawak's Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring), a portfolio in which he has overseen labour ordinance reform, foreign worker recalibration programmes, and infrastructure advocacy for remote communities in Baram and Mulu [7][4]. Mulu falls under the Baram parliamentary seat, and Gerawat has worked closely with Baram MP Anyi Ngau on development coordination through the Highland Development Agency [7].

Known for

Gerawat Gala is known for representing the Mulu constituency — one of Sarawak's most geographically remote seats, accessible in part only by air — since its creation in 2016. He served as Deputy State Assembly Speaker during the 18th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (2016–2021), a role in which he ruled on parliamentary procedure and privilege matters. Since the 2021 election, he has been Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier's Department overseeing labour, immigration, and project monitoring, and has championed proposed reforms to the Sarawak Labour Ordinance including extended maternity leave and a reduction in weekly working hours.

Political positions

On Sarawak's oil and gas rights, Gerawat argued — drawing on his legal background — that Sarawak's Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 remained valid and that the Petroleum Development Act 1974 did not repeal it, and publicly suggested the matter be referred to the Federal Court for a binding resolution [2][8]. On labour policy, in his capacity as Deputy Minister he championed draft amendments to the Sarawak Labour Ordinance, proposing paternity leave of seven days, an increase in maternity leave from 60 to 98 days, and a reduction in the weekly working hours cap from 48 to 45 hours, aligning Sarawak's framework with international labour conventions and the Employment Act 1955 (Amendment) 2022 [7]. On community representation, he has publicly called for the appointment of Orang Ulu community leaders in Sarawak's urban centres — including Kuching, Bintulu, and Miri — to address welfare and customary matters for Orang Ulu residents living away from their home areas [4]. On infrastructure, he has advocated for roads connecting Mulu to Miri and for bridge construction in remote areas of Baram, raising the issue of safety for communities that lack permanent river crossings [7].

Before politics

1. Pre-2016Gerawat Gala is a lawyer by profession. He was a former PBB member who resigned from the party prior to contesting the 2016 Sarawak state election.⛓

Political career

1. 7 May 2016Contested and won the Mulu seat in the 11th Sarawak state election as a Barisan Nasional direct candidate, with a majority of 1,708 votes. Mulu was a newly created constituency in the 2015 redistribution.⛓
2. August 2016Accepted into Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) by then-party president and Chief Minister Adenan Satem, alongside four other former partyless BN assemblypersons.⛓
3. 2016–2021Served as Deputy State Assembly Speaker of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly during the 18th Assembly term, presiding over sittings and ruling on parliamentary privilege matters.⛓
4. 18 December 2021Re-elected to Mulu in the 12th Sarawak state election under the GPS-PBB banner, garnering 3,731 votes and winning with an increased majority of 2,875 votes over three challengers. His result was the last of the 82 seats to be officially confirmed, delayed by bad weather hampering the airlift of ballot boxes.⛓
5. 2022–presentAppointed Deputy Minister in the Premier of Sarawak's Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring), overseeing labour policy, foreign worker recalibration, and infrastructure project monitoring.⛓

Election history

• 2021MuluWon66.7%⛓
• 2016MuluWon⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• GovernmentSarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg cited Gerawat's cooperation with Baram MP Anyi Ngau as a basis for confidence in organised development plans for Mulu through the Highland Development Agency, and announced plans to build roads connecting Mulu to Miri if GPS was returned to govern.⛓
• VerifiedFactsGerawat Gala won the Mulu seat in both the 2016 and 2021 Sarawak state elections. In 2021 he polled 3,731 votes — 66.7% of votes cast — with a majority of 2,875, against three challengers in a constituency with 9,572 registered voters. His 2021 result was the final one declared in the state election, delayed by bad weather preventing ballot boxes from being airlifted to the count centre.⛓
• IndustryAs Deputy Minister overseeing labour and immigration, Gerawat announced the extension of the Sarawak Manpower Recalibration Programme (RTK 2.0) registration deadline to June 2024 and advised employers to register existing immigrant workers to avoid enforcement action.⛓