Irene Chang

Chang won with a majority of 4,497 votes against Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Chieng Buong Toon and State Reform Party (STAR) candidate Moh Hiong King.[11] She garnered 11,392 votes as compared to Chieng Buong Toon's 6,895 votes and Moh Hiong King's 374 votes. She successfully retained Bukit Assek for DAP.[12]

Despite being from the opposition party, Chang was among the committee members in the Sarawak Consultative Committee[13] which was established to serve as a vehicle to assist Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari and to advise the August House on fighting for Sarawak's rights as enshrined in the MA63.[14] The establishment of this Committee was as a response to the formation of the MA63 Steering Committee chaired by Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on 5 September 2018.[15] The Consultative Committee was formed under Standing Order 89 of the Standing Orders of the DUN and Article 24(1) of the Sarawak State Constitution through a motion dated on 6 November 2018.[16]

In 2018, the State Legislative Assembly debated the Oil Mining (Amendment) Bill which enables the state stronger regulatory controls over the exploration and prospecting for petroleum on the land in Sarawak, both onshore and offshore in the Continental Shelf.[17] Chang supported the Bill. However, she also raised her concerns and advised the State Government that they should declare at the court[18] that the Petroleum Development Act (PDA), the Territorial Sea Act (TSA) and the Continental Shelf Act (CSA) are not relevant in Sarawak.[19]

Chang debate in DUN.

In 2019, the State Legislative Assembly had a heated debate on the amendment of the Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance (NREO) which enables Sarawak to tackle environmental issues that are becoming more complex and diverse amid its developed state transformation agenda by 2030.[20] Chang participated in the debate, raising the issue that the open landfill at Jalan Seng Ling, Sibu which was actually meant to be used to dump bulky waste only was apparently used to discard all sort of waste including liquid waste, solid rubbish, organic waste, recyclable waste and hazardous waste over the years, which has caused squatters to start a livelihood at the area. She brought up her concern in the august House if there was any public engagement of the people and if any feedback were collected from the public on the suitability of location, environmental social and economic impact which the open landfill would cause the communities staying around the area before the local government decided to use the place for open landfill 18 years ago.[21] The question was raised referring to the underground burning that happened at Seng Ling dumpsite in October 2019.[22]

In the 2021 Sarawak State Election (12th Sarawak State Election), Chang contested to defend her Bukit Assek seat against five other candidates,[23] Jess Lau from Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak (Aspirasi), Chieng Jin Ek from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Ting Kee Nguan from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Priscilla Lau from Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) and independent candidate Hii Tiong Huat. She garnered 3,810 votes and was defeated by Chieng Jin Ek who won with a majority of 874 votes[11] due to the overwhelming split votes by the local opposition parties.[24]