THE government has not decided on a date to table the Election Commission (EC) redelineation proposals for parliamentary and state constituencies, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid confirmed the government had received EC’s report yesterday, but said a discussion has yet to take place with Prime Minister Najib Razak and House Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

“We have yet to set up the date for tabling because the debates on the Royal Address is ongoing followed by the ministers’ replies after the tabling of new bills.

“I will have to discuss with the head of Parliament which is the prime minister and also the speaker to fix the date,” he said.

EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah had said the redelineation exercise, as provided for under Article 113 (10) of the federal constitution, was completed yesterday and submitted to Najib.

Hashim also recorded EC’s appreciation to all those who had given their cooperation and participated in providing input and feedback on the redelineation of electoral.

However, critics say EC has breached the Federal Constitution with the haste in which the final report was wrapped up without the completion of local inquiries to hear objections.

Lawyer Derek Fernandez, who is also an MBPJ councilor, said the council had filed objections against the altering of boundaries in federal and state seats in Petaling Jaya as stipulated in EC’s second recommendations.

Despite this, Fernandez said EC did not call MBPJ for an inquiry after the objections were filed.

“They are required to do so under the Federal Constitution even if they recommend to maintain the staus quo. Not calling MBPJ is, in my opinion, a breach of the Federal Constitution,” he said.

The opposition Pakatan Harapan pact and electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 had submitted 200 objections, which represent 30,000 signatures, to the EC last month to challenge the proposal. 

However, critics say only about 20% of the objections have been heard.

A total of 15 cases were also filed in court to challenge the redelineation exercise which caused it to be delayed for over a year, but they were all denied by the courts.

Fernandez said the recent decisions by the courts showed an “unwillingness to allow the EC’s recommendations to be challenged, and MBPJ is without remedy, as are PJ voters”.

He said the completion of EC’s report without first allowing objectors their right to be heard was “an affront to the constitution and to free and fair elections in Malaysia”.

“If the EC is immune from judicial review, then the EC is above the law. Period.

“It really is a sad day for democracy when a body can act immune from judicial oversight, and the rakyat is without remedy in an unfair and stacked ‘ football match’,” said Fernandez. – March 10, 2018.