The actual victims of malapportionment of electoral constituencies are Malays, argued political scientist Wong Chin Huat.
Speaking at a forum on redelineation today, he said this is because certain Malay-majority constituencies are made larger and larger in order to counter anti-BN sentiments.
This, according to Wong (left), shows that the malapportionment is not motivated by ethnicity or geography, but partisan politics.
Examples, he said, include "heavily Malay" Baling which at 93,376 voters, compared with Alor Setar, which is a mixed constituency of 69,189 voters.
"It is penalising the Malay... because Baling is a PAS stronghold while Alor Setar has never been lost by the BN until the recent polls," he said.
He said, in urban Puchong, two state seats show a similar story.
There, Malay-majority Sri Serdang grew bigger and bigger in favour of the ruling coalition to counter anti-BN sentiments.
In 2008, BN won with a majority of only 45 votes but was crushed by PAS in 2013 with a 16,251 majority.
"(The BN) is so unpopular in urban areas that they cannot get enough support unless they carve out large constituencies (in Malay-majority seats)," he said.
Speaking at a forum on redelineation today, he said this is because certain Malay-majority constituencies are made larger and larger in order to counter anti-BN sentiments.
This, according to Wong (left), shows that the malapportionment is not motivated by ethnicity or geography, but partisan politics.Examples, he said, include "heavily Malay" Baling which at 93,376 voters, compared with Alor Setar, which is a mixed constituency of 69,189 voters.
"It is penalising the Malay... because Baling is a PAS stronghold while Alor Setar has never been lost by the BN until the recent polls," he said.
He said, in urban Puchong, two state seats show a similar story.
There, Malay-majority Sri Serdang grew bigger and bigger in favour of the ruling coalition to counter anti-BN sentiments.
In 2008, BN won with a majority of only 45 votes but was crushed by PAS in 2013 with a 16,251 majority.
"(The BN) is so unpopular in urban areas that they cannot get enough support unless they carve out large constituencies (in Malay-majority seats)," he said.
The other state constituency under the Puchong parliamentary constituency, Chinese-majority Kinrara, however did not grow at the same rate.
I'll stand with Perkasa on this
Wong said that Tambun, won by Finance Minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, is also a large and growing Malay-majority constituency.
"In fact, in Perak, the top three largest constituencies are Malay-majority, and they are urban and semi-urban," he said.
"This should qualify me for an award by (Malay rights group) Perkasa and I will stand with them if they want to protest in front of the Election Commission's office."
He said that by victimising the Malays, the EC is also going against the spirit of the Federal Constitution which allows for differences in constituency sizes to safeguard rural voters, many of whom in 1957 were Malay.
He said that the constituency sizes also do not "live up to the EC's lie" that sizes are determined according to the location and development level of the area.
The EC had in 2011 published a booklet to say that constituencies in urban areas have more than 60,000 voters, rural areas 30,000 voters while semi-urban in between.
"If this is the case then Kedah only has a semi-urban state capital but Baling is a metropolis," he said.
In the same vein, he said, Sekinchan, which is a town with hotels and factories, is "rural" as it has fewer than 30,000 voters.
"But it is surrounded by semi-urban seats which only have paddy fields.
"It is not just a question of integrity but also intelligence, theirs (EC's) and ours as they assume that we will swallow this thing election after election," he said.
I'll stand with Perkasa on this
Wong said that Tambun, won by Finance Minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, is also a large and growing Malay-majority constituency.
"In fact, in Perak, the top three largest constituencies are Malay-majority, and they are urban and semi-urban," he said.
"This should qualify me for an award by (Malay rights group) Perkasa and I will stand with them if they want to protest in front of the Election Commission's office."
He said that by victimising the Malays, the EC is also going against the spirit of the Federal Constitution which allows for differences in constituency sizes to safeguard rural voters, many of whom in 1957 were Malay.
He said that the constituency sizes also do not "live up to the EC's lie" that sizes are determined according to the location and development level of the area.
The EC had in 2011 published a booklet to say that constituencies in urban areas have more than 60,000 voters, rural areas 30,000 voters while semi-urban in between.
"If this is the case then Kedah only has a semi-urban state capital but Baling is a metropolis," he said.
In the same vein, he said, Sekinchan, which is a town with hotels and factories, is "rural" as it has fewer than 30,000 voters.
"But it is surrounded by semi-urban seats which only have paddy fields.
"It is not just a question of integrity but also intelligence, theirs (EC's) and ours as they assume that we will swallow this thing election after election," he said.
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