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KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (EC) may consider conducting a review of the delineation of boundaries for the states in the peninsula, including the Tebrau and Subang parliamentary constituencies, after the end of the current eight-year period in March 2026.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said the redelineation can only be carried out once the period ends or if there is an amendment to the law regarding the composition of the number of members of the Dewan Rakyat or the state legislative assemblies.
"The EC is responsible for reviewing the delineation of federal and state electoral boundaries in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 113 of the Federal Constitution, as well as the principles and procedures outlined in Parts 1 and 2 of the 13th Schedule," he said during a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Oct 28).
He was responding to a question from Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (PH-Tebrau) on whether the EC was prepared to review the delineation of densely populated areas such as the Tebrau parliamentary constituency in Johor.
Kulasegaran said the principles of demarcation included ensuring a balance between the number of voters, the efficiency of election administration, voter convenience and maintaining local community ties.
In considering the redelineation proposal, he said the EC also took into account various other factors, including administrative matters, voter density and growth, the area's geography and topography, available development space, infrastructure facilities and people's access to the services of elected representatives.
"Therefore, based on the principles and factors that have been taken into account, a comparison of representation between the Tebrau parliamentary constituency and the Igan parliamentary constituency cannot be based solely on the number of voters.
"This is because both areas have different geographical characteristics and challenges, conditions on the ground and infrastructure facilities," he said.
Responding to a supplementary question from Puah on how the government was addressing public perception that it was carrying out gerrymandering or unfair demarcation, Kulasegeran stressed that all processes were carried out in accordance with existing legal provisions. – Bernama
