Sarawak DAP reveals EC’s biasness

Sarawak DAP says it 'abhors the thought that the electoral system as practised now is perfect and beyond reproach'.

KUCHING: Sarawak DAP, in supporting Bersih 2.0′s eight-point demand for electoral reforms, has revealed the “unfairness” of the Election Commission (EC) in its delineation exercise.

“We have clear imbalance in representation because of unfair constituency delineation,” state chairman Wong Ho Leng said in a declaration to mark the “Walk for Democracy” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

“Some state constituencies are four to five times bigger than others, and some parliamentary constituencies are more than 10 times bigger than others.

“For example, in the Sarawak state election, Ba’Kelalan has 6,958 voters compared with Pending which has 29,488 voters.

“The Barisan Nasional won 25 seats with fewer than 10,000 voters in each constituency.

“Compare this with the 10 seats won by the DAP with voters exceeding 20,000 each.

“Because of this disproportionate weightage in the votes, the BN secured 55% of the popular votes in the state election but won 77.5% of the seats.

“At parliamentary level, Putrajaya has 8,840 voters, whereas Kapar has 122,011 voters (13 times that of Putrajaya).

“In 2008 general election, Pakatan Rakyat won all five constituencies which had more than 100,000 voters each.

“There are eight constituencies with fewer than 20,000 voters, all won by the BN. A distorted and unbalanced weightage means unfair representation.”

Wong said the EC had no enforcement and prosecutorial powers and was now increasingly becoming the mouthpiece of the BN.

“It has no power to enforce election laws and is not able to ensure free and fair elections, ” he said, adding out that the government machinery should not be abused to sway election results.

Tainted electoral system

Wong read out the declaration at a press conference following Sarawak DAP’s “solidarity breakfast” with the public in Stutong near here yesterday morning.

With him were all 12 DAP assemblyman who defied police order and wore yellow T-shirts which bore the party’s slogan “Ubah” (change).

The issue of “unfair delineation” was one of several points stated in the declaration.

Other points raised included “rampant” vote-buying, indelible ink, repressive media laws, phantom voters, postal votes and longer election campaign.

Wong, who is also the Bukit Assek assemblyman and Sibu MP, said for true democracy to bloom, there must be “equal and not disproportionate representation” in the country.

He said the current “first to pass the post” electoral system was “tainted by electoral fraud”.

“We have seen the BN government handing out projects before and during election times in order to hoodwink voters and fish for their votes.

“The prime minister set the most obnoxious example of vote fishing by his ‘you help me, I help you’ utterance at Rejang Park on the eve of the Sibu by-election,” he said.

The declaration fully supported Bersih’s call for electoral reforms.

“Against these flaws in the electoral system, we join Malaysians to demand electoral reforms. It is every citizen’s right to see that elections are free and fair.

“We believe that the constitutional right of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression must be upheld by the government, for a true democracy entails a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

“It ensures that the people are the masters of the country.

“We insist that all legitimate demands for electoral reforms must be taken cognizance of and not brushed aside as fanciful tricks to topple the government.

“We abhor the thought that the electoral system as practised now is perfect and beyond reproach.

“We urge the government to cherish the goodwill of the 62 NGOs (forming Bersih) which have demanded electoral reforms through peaceful means.

“We believe such demand is for the betterment of the country,” he said, adding that there should be “no procrastination, for electoral reform is vital to propel the nation forward to becoming a better and more vibrant democracy”.