Focus on objections now, protest later, says Bersih

 

Electoral reform group Bersih says its immediate priority ahead of the Election Commission’s (EC) plan to gazette the constituency redelineations will be to take opportunity of the objection period.

Bersih chief Maria Chin Abdullah said while mass rallies, which the NGO is renowned for, are still on the table, it will only come after that.

Maria (left) said the government has also become more "sophisticated" by allowing protests to take place but ignoring the demands made.

Hence, more "creative ways" are needed, she added.

"We want to get as many people as possible to object if we find that the redelineation is really unfair.

"If a lot of people object, the Election Commission (EC) will have to rethink: What on earth is it drawing, if so many people are objecting," Maria told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

She was responding to a suggestion that the electoral reform movement should press for its demands on redelineation through street protests.

The federal constitution stipulates a 30-day objection period after a redelineation exercise is announced, where affected local authorities, state governments and groups of at least 100 voters can submit objections.

The EC is required by the constitution to hold an inquiry to hear these objections, and both Tindak Malaysia and Bersih are running separate programmes to recruit and train volunteers on how to file such objections.

'Mass objection tantamount to referendum'

Tindak Malaysia is also appealing for volunteers to help photograph the new redelineation maps once it is put on public display in each constituency, so that it can be compiled for analysis.

This would allow the group to analyse and mathematically determine whether the voters in each state would be evenly distributed among its constituencies based on the new maps, and formulate counter-proposals.

A computer programme that helps automate the process is also in the works.

The redelineation exercise is expected to begin by the end of the year, and both groups are concerned that EC’s proposed electoral boundaries would be malapportioned and skew the results of future elections.

Concurring with Maria, Tindak Malaysia founder PY Wong said a mass objection against the EC’s proposals would be tantamount to a referendum against the commission and would be more effective than street protests.

“Imagine this - 111,000 objectors (100 each from half of Malaysia’s parliamentary constituencies) are virtually similar to a referendum. So if you want your say, sign up as an objector now.

“If we have half-a-million objectors, that is a massive message to the EC - get your act together, because we are serious this time,” he said.