BN believes redelineation favours them: Lim

GEORGE TOWN: The newly gazetted redelineation of voters is supported by Barisan Nasional (BN) because the ruling coalition believes they have the support of Malay voters, according to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
The Penang Chief Minister said that BN believes a "Malay Tsunami" against them would not occur, as they are confident that the Malay electorate would support them in the upcoming election.
"It remains to be seen if the voters will likewise bow to BN's wishes. But what is clear is that the redelineation has caused ethic imbalance in some constituencies, shifting Malay voters heavily into hotly disputed constituencies, while the Chinese were switched to areas under the Opposition," he said.
During a press conference today, as an example, Lim pointed out that in his Air Puteh state constituency in Air Itam, the number of voters were reduced from some 14,000 to 12,752, whereas in neighbouring Paya Terubong, the number of voters ballooned to 41,071.
"This is an outright imbalance. An unfair increase of voters in some seats."
The Dewan Rakyat passed the redelineation of electoral boundaries with a bloc-vote of 129 against 80 on Wednesday, the same day it was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, amid protests and backlash from the Opposition.
The motion was passed after 14 MPs from both sides debated for 10 minutes each on the EC report, that will affect 98 parliamentary seats.
The Federal Constitution states that a review is necessary at least once every eight years. The last time the electoral boundaries in the country were redrawn was in 2003.