Speaker: EC redelineation report to be tabled next Wed

PARLIAMENT | The Election Commission's redelineation report will be tabled in Parliament next Wednesday, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia has said.

At the start of today's sitting, Pandikar said copies of the report had been placed on each MP's table, but the contents are embargoed until April 28.

"I would like to remind that the document (report) cannot be published until it has been tabled," said Pandikar.

The redelineation motion follows the completion of the EC's latest exercise to redraw electoral boundaries nationwide, which had prompted protests and lawsuits from civil society and the opposition.

Pandikar later ruled that the reports must not be taken out of the Dewan Rakyat, even for MPs to prepare for the debate next week.

"If I allow the document to be taken out, if it was published by the media, or other people find out about it, I will not know who is responsible.

"I trust all of you. But if I allow (the report) to be taken out and it is published, none of you will admit that it came from you," he said in response to Lee Boon Chye (PKR-Gopeng) and Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai), who inquired if the report could be taken out for their own research.

Pandikar also stated that most of the report's contents are already public knowledge, as the redelineation issue had been widely reported on and even contested in court.

"What else do you read in the document? I just see its a very thick document. But the main contents, all of you know about it," he said.

As the morning session proceeded to Question Time, Pandikar retracted his ruling, and said that MPs could take out the reports, but cautioned against its contents being made public.

"I saw Seputeh (Teresa Kok) busy reading the document because I said it cannot be taken out. So now Seputeh can relax, Batu (Tian Chua) can relax...," he quipped.

Other opposition lawmakers who earlier questioned Pandikar's ruling were Mahfuz Omar (Amanah-Pokok Sena) and M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat). -Mkini