EC URGED TO ADHERE TO CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES IN ELECTORAL REDELINEATION

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- Bandar Kuching Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen has urged the Election Commission (EC) to strictly adhere to constitutional principles and allow sufficient time for public scrutiny during the electoral redelineation process in Sarawak.

In a statement today, Yii said that while he generally supports the proposed increase in seats, the process must adhere to provisions on apportionment, area weightage and local ties to ensure the interests of all Sarawakians are protected.

“The Federal Constitution, under Subsection 2(c) of the Thirteenth Schedule, mandates that the number of electors in each constituency ought to be approximately equal, with exceptions only for rural constituencies facing geographical disadvantages.

“Historically, this meant a maximum-to-minimum ratio of 2:1 (that is, a rural constituency could have as few as half the voters of an urban constituency). However, what we see today is that the malapportionment is outrageous,” the DAP MP said.

He called the EC to act independently, resist any pressure from any political parties and adhere to the constitutional demands, including to reduce ratio disparities, avoid gerrymandering and allow sufficient time for public participation, not a rushed four-month timeline.

Yii claimed current disparities were excessive, citing the parliamentary seats of Miri with 149,441 voters and Igan with 29,132 voters, a ratio of about 5:1, while at the state level, Senadin has 73,430 voters compared with Gedong’s 10,380, a ratio of about 7:1.

He also questioned why Bandar Kuching, with a similar electorate size to Petrajaya, is not expected to gain additional seats, while Petrajaya may receive two.

Yii said while the Constitution allows “weightage of area” for large and difficult-to-access rural constituencies such as Hulu Rajang and Baram, it should not be used to justify over-representation in smaller areas.

“The weightage of area" provision in the constitution for rural areas is conditional on two factors, namely large geographical area and genuine difficulty in reaching electors.

“That is why in my view, places like P216 Hulu Rajang (size of Pahang), P220 Baram (larger than Perak), and N64 Baleh, N65 Belaga, N66 Murum (larger than Kedah) do have legitimate claims for over-representation as these areas deserve weightage,” he said.

Yii added that P207 Igan has an area of only one-third of Negeri Sembilan, yet it has fewer voters than Hulu Rajang, Baram, Selangau, Bintulu, and Kapit - all of which are larger in both area and electorate.

As for N26 Gedong, he said is an even clearer example of over-representation, as nearly half of Sarawak's 82 state constituencies have both a larger area and a larger electorate than Gedong, whose main town is less than two hours by car from the State Legislature.

Meanwhile, Pulai MP Suhaizan Kayat urged the EC to correct imbalances in voter distribution by setting a clear principle that the number of voters in the largest parliamentary constituency should not exceed twice that of the smallest.

The Amanah lawmaker said the disparity in the number of voters between parliamentary constituencies is currently very significant.

He cited the example of Bangi, which had 246,795 voters in the 2022 General Election and where DAP’s Syahredzan Johan won with a majority of nearly 70,000 votes, while Kota Raja was won by Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu with a majority of 73,998 votes.

“Across the Klang Valley, there are many constituencies with very dense voter populations such as Titiwangsa, Shah Alam, Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Wangsa Maju and Ampang. These areas are usually won by Pakatan Harapan and sometimes by Umno/Barisan Nasional.

“On the other hand, there are much smaller seats such as Sik in Kedah and Jeli in Kelantan, where PAS or Perikatan Nasional candidates contest in constituencies with fewer than 50,000 voters,” he said.

He said this situation reflects an imbalance in voter distribution that must be addressed by the EC, as it is unfair to penalise urban voters by making their votes less valuable than those in much smaller constituencies.

“In reality, this imbalance has long been embedded in our electoral system. Past mistakes must be corrected in the redelineation process being carried out this year.

“These corrections must be made promptly so that the changes can take effect before the next general election,” he said.

-- BERNAMA