Kelantan's deputy Menteri Besar has reportedly filed a suit to halt the Election Commission's (EC) controversial redelineation, citing the omission of Selangor from the second round of its proposal.

According to Malay Mail Online (MMO) today, Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Abdullah is seeking to quash the EC’s March 3, 2017, notice as unconstitutional due to its contravention of article 113(6). 

This concerns the exclusion of Selangor from the exercise, while according to the Federal Constitution the redelineation must be conducted in the "States of Malaya" as a single unit. 

“I honestly and humbly believe that the exclusion of a component from the States of Malaya contravenes the provision of the Federal Constitution and that contravention would clearly affect the electoral redelineation structure and democratic system in Malaysia,” MMO quoted Mohd Amar as saying in the court application.

“I was further advised by my lawyer and I truly believe that the respondents do not have the powers to exclude Selangor from that notice as the powers to do so are not provided for by Article 113(6) of the federal constitution,” he said further, according to MMO.

The PAS leader is also seeking for the courts to order the suspension of any re-delineation process or proceedings arising from the March 3, 2017, proposals, pending the conclusion of the legal challenge.

Excluding S'gor 'unconstitutional'

The move follows Selangor on July 5 getting an injunction to stop the EC from submitting its redelineation report to the prime minister due to the exclusion.

Last year the Selangor government sued to invalidate the EC's 2016 proposals, which resulted in the suspension of the state's local inquiries process. 

However, the EC continued with its inquiries in other states excluding Selangor.

This March, Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming responding to the EC's announcement on the commencement of the second round of public display for the 2016 redelineation exercise, reminded the commission that proceeding without Selangor was unconstitutional.

Mohd Amar's suit filed on April 27 names the EC, EC chairperson Mohd Hashim Abdullah and EC secretary Abdul Ghani Salleh as the respondents, according to the report.

It quoted Mohd Amar’s lawyer Nik Barum Nik Abdullah as saying the case is set to appear before Kota Baru High on July 27 for leave.