Malaysia is in dire need of reforms, not least of which are electoral reforms to ensure that our next general elections will not be stolen by kleptocrats. Redelienation should be rejected until and unless the Election Commission abides by the PSC on Electoral Reforms’ recommendation of having three separate independent bodies to manage conduct of elections, manage the electoral roll and review election constituencies.
In the absence of electoral reform, any redelineation exercise will only lead to unfair election results. Our Election Commission has proven ineffective as a nonpartisan agency that safeguards our country’s compliance to democracy. According to the Electoral Integrity Project (2014), Malaysia is labelled to be of “low integrity” and is ranked 66th among the 73 countries which conducted national parliamentary and presidential elections between July 2012 and December 2013 — specifically for a serious extent of compromise in district boundaries and electoral laws. It is therefore all the more imperative that our Electoral Commission do not simply sway to the caprices of the incumbent to redelineate. Failure to do so will result in a further erosion of trust from Malaysians in its ability to administer electoral processes in a nonpartisan manner.
Lembah Pantai UMNO Division Chief Raja Nong Chik has explicitly affirmed the need for a redelineation exercise in Lembah Pantai, which would only serve to fortify Umno’s control.[1]
Any attempts to ‘adjust’ the elections will be seen as protecting the political status quo and crony capitalism that is now hampering our nation’s future. The overdependency on rent-seeking can be ascertained through Raja Nong Chik’s own words, “Rezeki saya lebih baik semasa Tun M. Saya dapat lebih banyak perniagaan semasa zaman Tun M. Sekarang susah nak dapat business.”
His recommendation for a redelineation would skew votes towards Umno, that would improve his business prospects, which have suffered under Prime Minister Najib’s regime.[2]
Do Malaysians and especially, Lembah Pantai in particular want a leader that cares only about lining his own pockets, in expense of the masses who are simply trying to make a decent living?
In addition, on 13 August, Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron has expressed a need to leverage the redelineation powers under the Election Commission’s jurisdiction to entrench Umno’s rule. It is his express wish to add three seats to the BN Parliament seat of Tangga Batu, and another two in the KEADILAN-held Bukit Katil parliamentary constituency.[3]
This is extremely irresponsible not least because the Umno leadership seeks to compromise what is supposed to be an independent electoral body, but because of their insatiable power-hungry desire to further entrench their rule — with no regards for the wishes of the masses.
Indeed, Raja Nong Chik has expressed disagreement with Idris Haron on redelineation motivated by a desire to entrench Umno’s reign over Malaysia. But, past experiences have shown that the Election Commission’s practice of redelineation has only resulted in a transfer of votes that would tip the scale to the ruling party’s favour. In the run up to the Sarawak state elections three months back, the EC had redrawn the state’s electoral boundaries, which increase the number of seats in state constituencies by 15%, from 71 to 82 seats![4] Of which, 9 out of the 11 additional seats are assessed to favour BN.[5]
So practically speaking, what really is the substantive difference between Raja Nong Chik’s and Idris Haron’s desire for redelineation? When our EC has yet to initiate any reforms, the practice of redelineation will only make a mockery of Malaysia’s supposed one person, one vote principle.
Redelineation that does not reflect the actual voter demographics, but instead to slant it towards one that favours BN clearly shows that the current Federal Government is not at all sincere in championing the interests of the public — only seeking to buttress the roots of a corrupt regime.
It is a well-known fact that the ruling party of Malaysia uses malapportionment, gerrymandering, unexplained voter transfers, mainstream media bias and vote buying to skew electoral results to their favour.[6] With the pervasion of Umno leaders seeking to manipulate electoral measures to their benefit, I echo KEADILAN’s Vice President Shamsul Iskandar’s call for the Election Commission to not be cowed, and to articulate their position on Raja Nong Chik’s and Datuk Seri Idris Haron recommendations for redelineation.
In the spirit to fight for a healthy democracy, we must strongly reject any redelineation exercise conducted by the EC until the EC moves to implement the recommendations stipulated by the 2012 Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms which include the creation of three independent bodies to respectfully manage conduct of elections, manage the electoral roll and review election constituencies.
Malaysia is in dire need of reforms, not least of which are electoral reforms to ensure that our next general elections will not be stolen by kleptocrats.
NURUL IZZAH ANWAR
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, LEMBAH PANTAI
VICE PRESIDENT AND ELECTION DIRECTOR, KEADILAN
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[1] https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/352276
[2] https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/352276
[3] http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/malacca-cm-moots-redelineation-to-help-bn-win
[4] http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/16/from-71-to-82/
[5] http://www.newmandala.org/a-fixed-result-sarawaks-electoral-distortions/
[6] http://www.eastwestcenter.org/sites/default/files/private/apb216_0.pdf
