Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier's Office (Law and Native Customs) Jefferson Jamit Unyat gave the update in the legislative assembly on October 13. The reply addressed a request submitted through the Lundu District Office in 2021 for an additional community-leader position in Sematan, where the existing Penghulu oversees a large number of villages.

Sarawak currently has 7,710 official Community Leader and Village Chief positions, known collectively as KMKK: 671 community leaders and 7,039 village chiefs. Kuching Division accounts for 641 positions, including 129 in Lundu District. These are the existing posts, not jobs newly approved under the current review.

Population growth, settlement patterns and the size of the area covered are among the factors assessed when creating posts. A village, longhouse or settlement needs at least 20 households to qualify for a village-chief position.

For communities awaiting a decision, the update confirms that applications remain under scrutiny; it does not provide an approval date for the Sematan request or a timetable for the full batch.