Stop lamenting! Take 1MDB PM Najib’s gerrymandering EC to court!
As usual, the Opposition is again lamenting Malaysia’s Election Commission (EC)’s ongoing redelineation exercise.
I say man! Isn’t it awfully tiring to hear the same grouses against the EC every time the EC conducts such an exercise with nothing been achieved.
Enough is enough! Stop lamenting! Take 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Prime Minister Najib Razak’s gerrymandering EC to court!
Challenge the EC’s integrity legally in court! Don’t just lament, lament and lament, forever!
Whether you win or lose the challenge is another matter. At least you have tried.
Doing nothing or taking no concrete or legal action about your grouses resolves nothing. The gerrymandering EC will just continue doing the same unabated.
The wide disparity in the number of voters in state and parliamentary constituencies is just too blatant to ignore.
The Opposition needs to take legal action against the EC, not just be contented with using their gab.
Or is the Opposition’s failure to challenge the EC’s integrity in court an admission that it is certain to lose the case in court because there is no case or no rule of law in Malaysia?
Isn’t there such a thing as natural justice?
No News Is Bad News reproduces two classic reports of the Opposition’s directionless lamenting of the gerrymandering EC:
"Zairil: Why the continued malapportionment of voters?
FMT Reporters
| September 15, 2016
The number of voters in biggest state seat in Penang is 3.3 times the smallest seat, despite the two seats being neighbouring seats, says Zairil Khir Johari of the Penang Institute.
PETALING JAYA: The Penang Institute has questioned why most of Penang’s state constituencies have been excluded from the Election Commission’s (EC) re-delineation exercise, resulting in the continued malapportionment of voters.
In a statement, Penang Institute Executive Director Zairil Khir Johari, who is a DAP lawmaker, said that the re-delineation exercise was the only opportunity to correct malapportionment and gerrymandering.
These, he said, were two problems that are pervasive in the Malaysian electoral landscape and if these imbalances were not corrected now, it would be an eight-year wait for the next opportunity.
“A quick analysis of the EC’s re-delineation proposal revealed today reveals that malapportionment of state constituencies in Penang has worsened.
“For example, the largest state constituency, N34 Paya Terubong, will have 41,707 voters, while its neighbour and incidentally the smallest state constituency, N23 Air Putih, will have only 12,752 voters.”
The Bukit Bendera MP said this meant the largest constituency in Penang was 3.3 times the smallest.
In the last GE, this disparity, he said, was 2.9 to 1, hence it should have been a priority for the EC to redraw the boundaries and even the number of voters in the two constituencies.
Zairil said Section 2(c) of the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution categorically stipulates that “the number of electors within each constituency in a state ought to be approximately equal except that, having regard to the greater difficulty of reaching electors in the country districts and the other disadvantages facing rural constituencies, a measure of weightage for area ought to be given to such constituencies”.
Thus, he said the Penang Institute considered the disparity between the constituencies as unconstitutional.
“Penang Institute urges voters in over-sized constituencies, those with more than 33 per cent of the average constituency, to object to such blatant malapportionment.
“At the same time, the EC should minimise malapportionment in subsequent inquiries if they wish to avoid legal challenges.”
Zairil also urged the EC to display adequate information for voters to meaningfully evaluate the EC’s proposals, so voters could take part in the display, objection and inquiry process.
He added that the EC should list every boundary change and the effect of their proposed recommendations as prescribed in Section 4(a) of the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.”
"Pua claims EC conducting single-biggest gerrymandering exercise
FMT Reporters
| September 15, 2016
"It's about stealing victory in the next General Election for BN," reiterates the DAP lawmaker.
KUALA LUMPUR: Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua called on voters in Damansara, and elsewhere, to protest “vehemently” at the “proposed election rigging exercise” by the Election Commission (EC). “It will deny them the equal rights in the Federal Constitution,” he warned in a statement.
Effectively, charged Pua, a vote in the redelineated Damanasara was not worth even a quarter in gerrymandered seats. “It’s designed to give the advantage to Barisan Nasional (BN),” added Pua who is also DAP National Publicity Secretary.
The MP claimed the EC has virtually confirmed that it was conducting the single-biggest gerrymandering exercise in Malaysia. “It’s about stealing victory in the next General Election for BN,” reiterated Pua.
He was referring to the EC officially publishing its proposed redelineation of electoral boundaries on Thursday.
He cited Damansara as a case in point.
Petaling Jaya Utara, renamed Damansara, will become the single largest constituency with 150,439 voters, an increase of 76.2 per cent from 85,401 in 2013.
Damansara will displace Kapar as the single largest constituency, he noted. “The latter’s voters will be reduced from 144,159 to 100,456, a reduction of 30.3 per cent.”
He reckons the reasons in the two seats was to add to the majority where BN was unlikely to win. At the same time, the EC has reduced the majorities in seats which BN may be able to re-capture.
Pua went into intricate details on the “gerrymandering exercise”.
The absurdity of creating a monster Damansara seat, with more than 150,000 voters, was even more outrageous when compared with other seats, he lamented.
Putrajaya remains the smallest constituency in the country with only 17,627 voters (11.7 per cent of Damansara).
Perak remains the state with the highest number of low voter seats with Lenggong at 28,078 (18.7 per cent of Damansara), Padang Rengas at 28,727 (19.1 per cent), Kuala Kangsar at 33,113 (22 per cent), Parit at 33,638 (22.4 per cent) and Gerik at 33,832 (22.5 per cent).
Even within Selangor, which has 2.08 million voters and 22 parliamentary seats, the disparity was “unjustifiably” huge, continued Pua.
Sabak Bernam has only 37,126 voters (24.7 per cent of Damansara).
The discrepancy in the number of voters for constituencies within Selangor was “repugnant”, he summed up. “The average number of voters per seat should be approximately 94,500."
FMT Reporters
| September 15, 2016
"It's about stealing victory in the next General Election for BN," reiterates the DAP lawmaker.
KUALA LUMPUR: Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua called on voters in Damansara, and elsewhere, to protest “vehemently” at the “proposed election rigging exercise” by the Election Commission (EC). “It will deny them the equal rights in the Federal Constitution,” he warned in a statement.Effectively, charged Pua, a vote in the redelineated Damanasara was not worth even a quarter in gerrymandered seats. “It’s designed to give the advantage to Barisan Nasional (BN),” added Pua who is also DAP National Publicity Secretary.
The MP claimed the EC has virtually confirmed that it was conducting the single-biggest gerrymandering exercise in Malaysia. “It’s about stealing victory in the next General Election for BN,” reiterated Pua.
He was referring to the EC officially publishing its proposed redelineation of electoral boundaries on Thursday.
He cited Damansara as a case in point.
Petaling Jaya Utara, renamed Damansara, will become the single largest constituency with 150,439 voters, an increase of 76.2 per cent from 85,401 in 2013.
Damansara will displace Kapar as the single largest constituency, he noted. “The latter’s voters will be reduced from 144,159 to 100,456, a reduction of 30.3 per cent.”
He reckons the reasons in the two seats was to add to the majority where BN was unlikely to win. At the same time, the EC has reduced the majorities in seats which BN may be able to re-capture.
Pua went into intricate details on the “gerrymandering exercise”.
The absurdity of creating a monster Damansara seat, with more than 150,000 voters, was even more outrageous when compared with other seats, he lamented.
Putrajaya remains the smallest constituency in the country with only 17,627 voters (11.7 per cent of Damansara).
Perak remains the state with the highest number of low voter seats with Lenggong at 28,078 (18.7 per cent of Damansara), Padang Rengas at 28,727 (19.1 per cent), Kuala Kangsar at 33,113 (22 per cent), Parit at 33,638 (22.4 per cent) and Gerik at 33,832 (22.5 per cent).
Even within Selangor, which has 2.08 million voters and 22 parliamentary seats, the disparity was “unjustifiably” huge, continued Pua.
Sabak Bernam has only 37,126 voters (24.7 per cent of Damansara).
The discrepancy in the number of voters for constituencies within Selangor was “repugnant”, he summed up. “The average number of voters per seat should be approximately 94,500."
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