COMMENT | It is outrageous to learn that the Election Commission scheduled 31 objections to the delineation of Selangor on Feb 27, so that its proposal may be tabled in Parliament in time for the new boundaries to be used for the 14th general elections.

The EC’s ridiculous haste in hearing objections means that the inquiry process provided by the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution is made completely hollow.

One of the best-kept secrets of the EC’s Second Notice on the Selangor redelineation exercise (Syor 2), is that it will leave more than 98 percent of Selangor electors untouched from the status quo.

As only five federal and 15 state constituencies would have their boundaries changed, as little as 3,962 voters (0.19 percent) would have their parliamentary constituencies changed, while 36,433 voters (1.75 percent) would have their state constituencies changed.

In other words, the delineation recommendations by the EC almost have not happened, and its haste now to rush through the second round of inquiry is nothing but a cover-up.

For the unsuspecting public, including many opposition politicians, the negligible change from the status quo appears to be good news.

To them, it means that the EC has conceded to the pressure mounted by both vigorous objections and the Selangor state government’s legal suit to reverse most of its proposals.

Deliberate violation of Article 113(2)

But what does the Federal Constitution say? It provides for three types of constituency delineation reviews to serve different purposes:

1. To correct constitutional non-compliance that occurs over time (Article 113(2));
2. To accommodate changes in the territorial composition of Malaysia, for example the creation of Federal Territory of Putrajaya (Article 113(3));
3. To accommodate changes in the number of seats in Parliament and/or state assemblies (Article 113(3A)).

The delineation reviews for the States of Malaya (of which Selangor is a part), which have seen no seat increase at both federal and state levels, are conducted under Article 113(2), which reads:

"Subject to paragraph (ii) [on interval], the Election Commission shall, from time to time, as they deem necessary, review the division of the Federation and the States into constituencies, and recommend such changes therein as they may think necessary in order to comply with the provisions contained in the Thirteenth Schedule; and the reviews of constituencies for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assemblies shall be undertaken at the same time as the reviews of constituencies for the purpose of elections to the House of Representatives." (Emphasis added)

Its meaning cannot be clearer to anyone who upholds the Federal Constitution. When such a review is conducted under this clause, the EC must:

1. Propose changes to correct or reduce all instances of constitutional non-compliance;
2. Not propose other changes that may aggravate constitutional non-compliance...