Selangor begins inquiry on redrawing electoral boundaries

PETALING JAYA - Malaysia's Selangor state on Wednesday (Dec 27) began the first of two inquiries into the election commission's proposal to redraw voting boundaries for state and parliamentary seats.

According to The Star, once the two inquiries to hear objections against the proposal are completed, the proposal can be tabled in Parliament and be approved by a simple majority of MPs.

A government source told the newspaper that objections filed earlier by groups of 100 or more voters, local authorities and the state government would be heard during the local inquiry in Selangor.

Once the local inquiry is completed, the commission will examine the objections and update the proposal with any objections that it accepts. The updated proposal that will be displayed publicly for one month, after which a second inquiry will be held to hear objections to the updated proposal.

"Once the second inquiry is completed, the Election Commission will submit a report to the Prime Minister, and the government can then opt to table the report in the Dewan Rakyat for approval," said the source.

Opposition leaders have accused the government of skewing the borders in favour of the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional and rushing the process through ahead of the country's next general election that must be held by Aug 2018.

While the redelineation exercise is, on the face of it, meant to address an unequal distribution of voters, critics told newswire agency Reuters that it instead moves opposition-inclined voters into opposition-held seats to create super-constituencies, and reshapes constituencies to have more distinct ethnic majorities.

The prime minister's office has denied these claims, saying the exercise is "is entirely normal, free from political interference" and managed independently by the commission.

The commission is seeking to redraw boundaries for more than 120 parliamentary seats, Reuters reported, over half of the 222 seats in total.

Fifteen cases challenging the redelineation were filed in court, reported The Star. On Dec 18, the Court of Appeal reversed an earlier High Court ruling which had halted the exercise for one year, paving the way for the commission to proceed with the inquiries.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said there was still room for voters to express their objections.

"Once the first local inquiry is completed and the updated proposal is put up for public display, voters can register their objections which will be heard during the second inquiry," he said, as quoted by The Star.