THE 14th general election can be held at any time and does not need to wait for the redelineation exercise to be completed, said Election Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah.

He said the final decision on whether to accept the results of the redelineation exercise or revert to the old boundaries rested with the prime minister.

“There is a difference between the delineation process and the general election. The general election does not depend on the delineation exercise.

“For example, if GE14 were held tomorrow, the prime minister could dissolve Parliament without having to take the delineation process into consideration,” Hashim said after the third day of hearings on objections to the redelineation in Kuala Selangor today.

“Our jobs are not just to deliver reports to the prime minister and then wash our hands clean of all of it.

“This is why we cannot say when GE14 will be held because we don’t have that kind of authority,” he said.

It is widely believed that the redelineation process is the strongest indicator for when GE14 will be held.

Public objections to the Selangor redelineation process being heard in Shah Alam will end on January 8. 

He said that the EC had followed all procedures in line with the law, including the Federal Constitution ruling that electoral boundaries be redrawn every eight years.

He said the hearing of public objections had been completed in every state except Selangor.

“We always follow procedure, whether we agree with it or not. At the end of the day, the results are revealed to the public, who can then object to them or not.”

He said the EC would take a month to consider objections before revealing its decision.

Hashim said the EC also allowed for those who are unable to attend objection hearings to be scheduled to be heard on another session.

“If complainants cannot make it to a hearing for whatever reason, it is no problem. Just tell us and we will pencil you in for another session. Because at the end of the day, we have to hear all objections.” 

Two cases were heard at the objection hearing for the redelineation of the Kuala Selangor parliamentary constituency today.

The first objection was brought by Amanah, presented by three complainants, representing residents of Taman Saujana Utama.

“They want to include us in the Dewan Undangan Negeri (Dun) Paya Jaras Parlimen Sungai Buloh.

“I am arguing against this as this would mean that there would be two authorities in charge of one small area. It will confuse residents,” Hafizah Ghazali, who also lives in Taman Saujana Utama, said.

In the second case, 10 people brought forward an objection presented by three complainants.

The three, who are also PAS members, represented Taman Saujana Utama, Bukit Cherakah and Ladang Tuan Mee.

“Most of the voters represented by PAS object to factors, not from a political standpoint, but a bureaucratic one,” said Mohd Fakaruddin Ismail.

Fakaruddin, who is also deputy chief of PAS’ Kuala Selangor branch, said moving Saujana Utama to Sungai Buloh would be problematic for residents and local authorities.

“We were previously under the Kuala Selangor District Council, with the ‘cukai tanah’ under the jurisdiction of Kuala Selangor.

“If we are moved to the Shah Alam City Council, this will be inconvenient as we pay our main tax in Kuala Selangor.” – December 29, 2017.