SABAH Bersih wants Putrajaya to drop the 2017 delimitation proposal for Sabah now that it supports lowering the voting age and automatic voter registration.

The state chapter of the electoral reform coalition Bersih 2.0 said this would worsen the inequitable apportionment of Sabah seats and urged MPs not to support the delimitation proposal.

The proposal and parliamentary order to adopt it were tabled in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. Debate is schedule for July 17.

“If the obsolete proposal is not withdrawn, Bersih 2.0 urges all parliamentarians who believe in democracy to vote against it. 

“Specifically, the 25 MPs from Sabah must not vote to adopt the delimitation plan that disadvantage Sabahans, especially its youth,” Bersih said in a statement today.

If adopted, the move to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 and automatic registration will add between 300,000 and 400,000 voters to Sabah’s electoral roll of 1,117,337 voters.

It would be “a farce” for voters in urban areas if their ballot is worth less than 1/5 or 1/6 of rural voters, Bersih said.

For example, semi-urban federal seats like Sepanggar (55,294 voters), rural seat Lahad Datu (52,343) and semi-rural Kota Belud (51,767) would have more than twice the number of voters as rural Beluran (24,916). 

“The malapportionment in Sabah will not only distort electorate choice, but also sow division and discontent among Sabahans. 

“The federal and state constituencies should have another round of delimitation after the new voting age and automatic registration is implemented,” Bersih said.

It urged Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal to initiate another constitutional amendment to add seats in the state legislature after the expansion of the electorate. 

Bersih also called for the delimitation proposal to be released to the public and published on the Parliament, Prime Minister’s Department and Election Commission’s websites. – July 9, 2019.