The Election Commission has received 370 counter proposals regarding the new redelineation exercise from various quarters including opposition parties and state governments, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.

The appeals, mostly calling for the retainment of previous election boundaries, also included those submitted by a group of 100 individuals or voters.

Deputy Defence Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said the proposals were submitted to the commission between Aug 8 and Sept 8.

"These are related to proposals to retain the current election boundaries, including the reasons for increment of seats," he said during the question and answer session.

"The EC is currently investigating at the local level and will hear all the appeals," he added.

The deputy minister was replying to a question by Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahman (BN-Sungai Benut) who asked Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to state the number of counter proposals made in response to the new exercise.

The BN MP also wanted to know if the EC will employ any measures to ensure that voters cast their ballots at the proper gazetted areas, to avoid the emergence of phantom voters.

Meanwhile, opposition parliamentarian Saupi Daud (Keadilan-Tanah Merah) questioned how the objections were classified and who were the officials appointed by the EC to handle them.

Lodge complaints

Answering the questions, Mohd Shafie said the new redelineation exercise was based on a number of criteria such as the quantity of voters, location, population size, physical area of each constituency and their accessibility.

The deputy minister also stressed that the commission has taken various steps to ensure there are no phantom voters in the current election roll.

He advised voters to come forward to lodge complaints or raise questions regarding the election roll when it is exhibited by the EC.

"When there are protests, the EC is fully responsible. Complaints are investigated by local district officers with the assistance of village heads.

"If there are phantoms voters, the EC will reject their voting rights," he said.

Mohd Shafie assured parliamentarians that the commission's investigations are conducted thoroughly.

The commission was criticised over the redelineation exercise in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, which certain quarters claim favours the ruling coalition.

BN strongholds such as Johor, Selangor and Sabah were allotted many new seats while the PAS-controlled Kelantan and Terengganu received none.

Kedah, where the opposition maintains a formidable presence, was also not allotted any.