Don't 'punish' voters: MP urges EC to fix unequal parliamentary seat sizes

 

Urban voters shouldn’t be “punished” due to the imbalance in voter distribution across parliamentary constituencies, Pulai MP Suhaizan Kaiat said.

He said it is unfair to make urban votes less valuable than those in much smaller constituencies because of the difference in the number of voters.

Suhaizan, who is also Johor Amanah deputy president, urged the Election Commission (EC) to address this disparity as it undertakes the redelineation process.

He stressed that the ratio between the largest and smallest constituencies must not exceed twofold.

“What is more pressing is that the EC must apply a clear principle: the largest parliamentary seat should not have more than twice the number of voters compared to the smallest seat.

“At present, the difference in the number of voters between parliamentary constituencies is very significant,” he said in a statement today.

Glaring disparity

Suhaizan pointed out several constituencies across the Klang Valley with very high voter populations, including Titiwangsa, Shah Alam, Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Wangsa Maju and Ampang.

Candidates from Pakatan Harapan, or occasionally Umno and BN, typically win these densely populated urban areas.

He cited the Bangi seat, which had 246,795 voters in the 2022 general election. DAP MP Syahredzan Johan secured the constituency with a majority of nearly 70,000 votes.

Similarly, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu won the Kota Raja seat with a majority of 73,998 votes.

In contrast, candidates from PAS or Perikatan Nasional contest much smaller constituencies, such as Sik and Jeli, with fewer than 50,000 votes overall.

Based on official data from the 15th general election in 2022, the number of voters in Sik, Kedah, stood at only 63,126, while Jeli in Kelantan had just 59,798 voters.

“This situation clearly shows that there is an imbalance in the distribution of votes, and the EC must address it,” he said.

Time to correct past mistakes

Suhaizan acknowledged that some constituencies in Sarawak, such as Batang Sadong, cover vast geographical areas, in some cases even larger than the state of Selangor.

However, he stressed that this argument does not apply to most constituencies in Peninsular Malaysia.

He emphasised that the corrections must be implemented soon so that the changes can take effect before the next general election.

“The reality is that this imbalance has long been built into our electoral system.

“Past mistakes must be corrected in the redelineation process being carried out this year,” he said.

Malaysiakini has contacted the EC for comments. - Mkini