Delineation Exercise: Challenge from EC Chairman Datuk Abdul Rashid accepted
Statement
by Ngeh Koo Ham
(Ipoh, Tuesday): The
Election Commission Chairman Datuk Abdul Rashid was reported in the Sin Chew
Jit Poh daily on 23rd February 2003 challenging any party who claim that the
Election Commission is bias towards the government or that the Election
Commission is not neutral to meet him and argue their cases.
Perak DAP would like to accept the challenge to meet him. Perak DAP has the
following complaints against the Election Commission.
1. Failure to give the Perak DAP a hearing with regard to the objections
raised
The Perak DAP had gathered more than 100 voters as required by law from each
of the Parliamentary Constituencies of Ipoh Timur (P61), Ipoh Barat (P62)
and Grik (P52) and had raised various objections with regard to the present
on-going constituency redelineated exercise. The period for hearing the
objections is over but till date, no hearing has been fixed to hear the
objections raised from the said 3 Parliamentary Constituencies.
We can only conclude that the Election Commission has been unfair to the
opposition for refusing the give the opposition a hearing with regard to the
objections raised concerning the redelineation of the abovesaid 3
Parliamentary Constituencies.
2. Unfair delineation exercise to the disadvantage of the DAP
The support for the DAP has been the strongest in Ipoh Timur, Ipoh Barat and
Batu Gajah. As in the 1999 General Election, Ipoh Timur has 77,884 voters,
Ipoh Barat has 71,355 voters and Batu Gajah has 57,406 voters.
The Election Commission has proposed the increase of only 1 Parliamentary
seat in Perak. Ipoh Timur and Ipoh Barat are the most densely populated
Parliamentary Constituencies in Perak and it is only logical that the new
Parliamentary Constituency be created in Ipoh. However, the Election
Commission is proposing a new Parliamentary Constituency known as Lenggong
to be created in Grik, which in 1999 has only 23,999 voters. The new
Lenggong parliament has only 21,248 voters. Grik and Lenggong are the UMNO
strongholds. It is clear that the Election Commission is siding the present
Government.
The Election Commission is also proposing to an increase the present Batu
Gajah voters from 57,406 in 1999 to 71,077. Voters from areas like Taman
Pertama in Ipoh Barat, which voted for the BN Government will be added to
the Batu Gajah Constituency. A total of 7,027 voters will be transferred
from Taman Pertama into Batu Gajah Parliamentary Constituency. DAP believes
that the Election Commission is biased and is trying to assist the BN to
wrestle the Batu Gajah seat in the next General Election.
3. The Election Commission seems to act base on racial consideration
The Election Commission must treat every Malaysian equally. The Election
Commission seems to act base on racial consideration. It gives so much
weightage to voters in predominantly Malay area like Lenggong and Grik one
(1) vote in Grik and Lenggong is equivalent to four (4) votes in Ipoh. Such
glaring discrimination gives the impression that the Election Commission
acted based on racial consideration. Election Commission must always act
fairly irrespective of race or the place the voters come from.
I call on Datuk Abdul Rashid to fix an appointment to meet the Perak DAP to
resolve the abovesaid issues.
(25/2/2003)
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Ngeh Koo Ham, DAP Perak Chairman
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