Electoral redelineation report to be tabled next week (Updated)

KUALA LUMPUR: The much anticipated redelineation motion will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on March 28.
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia told MPs that the report, which had been placed on their tables, is embargoed until then.
The MPs were caught by surprise earlier when they were not allowed to read the report and were also prohibited from taking the document out of the Dewan.
However, within a few minutes of making such a ruling, Pandikar reversed his decision and allowed the MPs to remove the report from the chamber. This change of heart did come with a warning, though.
"According to Standing Order 95(A), it cannot be published in any way. So those who publish the embargoed report are violating the Standing Order and will be in contempt of Parliament.
"I know I said you cannot take it out just now. But now you can, yet don't publish it anywhere. So all of you can relax now," Pandikar said.
Before this decision, several opposition MPs stood up to express dissent when they were stopped by the Dewan guards from even reading the documents.
Pandikar said that if the documents were allowed to be taken out of the Dewan, they may be leaked to the media and that it would be difficult to trace the source of that leak.
The opposition MPs questioned which Standing Order allowed for such a prohibition.
"Tan Sri, you said we are prohibited from taking the report out of the Dewan. That we have no choice but to abide but if we cannot even read the report which is on our table, then it is like infringing my right as an elected representative here," Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai) said.
Datuk Mahfuz Omar (Amanah-Pokok Sena) and Lee Boon Chye (PKR-Gopeng) criticised Pandikar for his decision and said if MPs are not allowed to read or deliberate the report then it is as good as withdrawn from them.
When Pandikar reversed his ruling a few minutes later, he said that he was satisfied that the Standing Order did not prohibit lawmakers from taking the embargoed report out to read and deliberate on it, as long as they abided by the embargo.