Selangor's delimitation exercise guilty of ethnic gerrymandering

MP SPEAKS | On the surface, it seems that the second notice (or Syor 2) of the Selangor delimitation exercise which was publicly released on Jan 14, 2018 reverts the boundaries of the parliament and state seats in Selangor back to the boundaries used in the 2013 general elections.

But a deeper examination of the polling districts that were shifted shows that the Election Commission is guilty of ‘ethnic gerrymandering’ with the intention of helping the Barisan Nasional (specifically Umno) win back some of these marginal state seats by increasing the percentage of Malay voters in these seats and shifting non-Malay voters to safe Pakatan Harapan state seats.

As a result of Syor 2, there were six state seats where the percentage of Malay voters increased by more than five percent - N11 Ijok, N18 Hulu Kelang, N20 Lembah Jaya, N21 Chempaka (renamed Pandah Indah), N51 Morib and N53 Sijangkang.

In N11 Ijok, a seat which was won by PKR by 739 votes in GE2013, the percentage of Malay voters increased from 50 percent to 60.4 percent as a result of Syor 2.

In N18 Hulu Kelang, which was won by PAS by 2,881 votes in GE2013, the percentage of Malay voters increased from 80.8 percent to 86.6 percent as a result of Syor 2.

In N20 Lembah Jaya, which was won by PAS by 8,713 votes in GE2013, the percentage of Malay voters increased from 54.5 percent to 62.2 percent as a result of Syor 2.

In N21 Chempaka (proposed to be renamed as Pandan Indah), which was won by PAS by 9,608 votes in GE2013, the percentage of Malay voters increased from 53.0 percent to 61.7 percent as a result of Syor 2.

In N51 Sijangkang, which was won by PAS by 766 votes in GE2013, the percentage of Malay voters increased from 66.6 percent to 71.7 percent as a result of Syor 2. 

In N53 Morib, which was won by PAS by 2,942 votes in GE2013, the percentage of Malay voters increased from 62.5 percent to 73.4 percent as a result of Syor 2.

On the other hand, N19 Bukit Antarabangsa, which was won by PKR by 4,044 votes in GE2013, the Malay percentage has decreased from 57.1 percent in GE2013 to 41.6 percent as a result of Syor 2.

Ironically, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali’s state seat will become a Chinese majority seat (from 35.6 percent to 50.5 percent) if Syor 2 is passed. 

In N22 Teratai, which was won by DAP in GE2013 with a 13,646 vote majority, the percentage of Chinese voters increased from 59.0 percent in GE2013 to 62.1 percent as a result of Syor 2. 

Finally, in N52 Teluk Datuk (proposed to be renamed as Banting), which was won by DAP by 5,391 votes, the percentage of Chinese voters increased significantly from 45 percent in GE2013 to 59.6 percent as a result of Syor 2.

When we examine these figures, we can clearly see can the only reason why the EC made these changes in Syor 2 was for political reasons which is to help Umno in these seats.

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ONG KIAN MING is the MP for Serdang and assistant political education director of the DAP.- Mkini