Re-delineation exercise reflects BN's insecurities

The Malaysian Insight The Malaysian Insight Updated 6 years ago · Published on 29 Mar 2018 4:30PM · 7 Comments

Is Barisan Nasional so afraid of a 93-year-old man it does not want to name, and yet, enjoy the fruits of all his constitutional amendments and political chicanery when he was the prime minister it adored for 22 years? – The Malaysian Insight file pic, March 29, 2018.

THE re-delineation bill tabled in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday is a piece of work that has left many wondering if the ruling Barisan Nasional is as strong as it makes out to be.

To put it bluntly, its proposals – accepted by the Dewan Rakyat with a vote of 129-80 – are an example of extreme gerrymandering, and an indictment of BN and its lynchpin party, Umno.

One can lay the blame squarely on the Election Commission, but the reality is, those on the panel are selected and maintained by the ruling government – and not through constitutional requirements in the original federal constitution.

Look, the very purpose of a re-delineation exercise is to reduce inequality so that Malaysia can have a one-citizen, one-vote system. That is what a democratic society is – equality before law and in life.

But look at the malapportionment in the re-delineation bill, where the inequality is not only maintained, but exacerbated.

For example, Selangor’s smallest constituency of Sabak Bernam has the same number of voters in the 13th general election electoral rolls – 37,126 voters against the largest, which is Kapar with 146,317 voters.

In the latest rolls ahead of GE14, Sabak Bernam maintains 37,126 voters, while there is a new behemoth of a federal seat called Damansara (formerly Petaling Jaya Utara in GE13) with 150,439 voters.

Voters in the new seat of Damansara had objected to the increase in new voters, which the EC noted and agreed to, but later, voided that decision to keep the super seat.

What does that say about the EC or the government of the day?

That in a fair fight, the BN leadership does not have confidence in its parties and members to defeat an opposition pact led by a 93-year-old man and without the mammoth resources of the state that are enjoyed by the ruling coalition.

How difficult is it to beat this man and his motley crew of politicians, who were on opposing sides of the political aisle in past general elections?

Is BN so afraid of the 93-year-old man it does not want to name, and yet, enjoy the fruits of all his constitutional amendments and political chicanery when he was the prime minister it adored for 22 years?

After all, whatever that is being done is not new. It has been done in the past by other BN prime ministers, and that has kept the coalition as the government for so long.

Any politician who says he is different from this 93-year-old man should do better than him. Make space for a fair fight on a level playing field and compete on policies for a better country.

But, that would be too hard, right. Redrawing constituencies is a far easier way to keep power – even if the opponent is past his prime and unable to convince all that he can deliver them from the miasma of Malaysian politics. – March 29, 2018.

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Comments

  • Progressive Meditation is the only way to feel more secure from our fears. Even the impending end of the earth will NOT be able to shake us if we are "mind unshaken"! TRY IT! ..

    Posted 6 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

    • Spot On Mel. The MIND, God's (if so exists) Greatest Gift, double edged to either Defend or depressingly Destroy. Cheers

      Posted 6 years ago by Naag Seshan · Reply

    • I think you will find that in a more realistic world, progressive meditation is better known as ‘burying your head in the sand’

      Posted 6 years ago by Dennis Da Menace · Reply

  • What a load of nonsense from a biased editor hell bent on turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse. BN is supremely confident of a win in GE14. The only question is how big that win will be. The redelineation exercise has one purpose and that is to destabilise and demoralise the opposition. In that regard it has performed spectacularly. The Harapan Hoax has so little holding it together that it readily grasps onto any distraction to keep it from facing reality. If it had spent as much time on building a political philosophy as it has spent on hating BN then we might well be living in a different world. But let’s face facts. A liaison between Mahathir and the Chinese is the last thing that Malaysians want. They have put up with BN’s shite governance for 60 yrs to avoid a Chinese takeover and the whole nation was elated when Mahathir stepped down. If you add to that the image that Malaysians see coming out of the PRC, you have a scenario that not even the Chinese would want to see repeated here



    Posted 6 years ago by Dennis Da Menace · Reply

  • Voters are best advised not to align or support cowards. UMNO/BN are cowards with brute force. No glory or love in such a climate fashioned by fear and repression. A failed state is a product of its people, resigned to convenience and mediocrity. It is therefore no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly depraved and dysfunctional society that does not see thievery in its multitude of forms as immoral.

    Posted 6 years ago by Arun Paul · Reply

  • Insecurities? What UMNO/BN ARE CHILDREN??? ITS CHEATING. OVER-ENTITLEMENT. Its like kids cheating in exams, Datin that beats up Maid, husbands that cheats on the wife and family, STEALING from companies, relatives and neighbours.

    Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • As Malaysia securities in terms of economy.

    Posted 5 years ago by Yi HU ling · Reply