Representing Your Vote : Electoral Issues in Malaysia
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I recently represented Tindak Malaysia to provide a comprehensive presentation on redelineation process and issues in Malaysia.
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Representing Your Vote : Electoral Issues in Malaysia
- 1. REPRESENTING YOUR VOTE: ELECTORAL ISSUES IN MALAYSIA Danesh Prakash Chacko (Tindak Malaysia Network Services PLT)
- 2. TINDAK MALAYSIA : WHO WE ARE? • Successful in training Polling & Counting Agents for 2013 elections • Delimitation is one of our signature projects • Working on preparing for GE14 Tindak call of Volunteers (Above) and Polling Agent Advert (Left)
- 3. IS THIS CARTOON TRUTHFUL? • Is gerrymandering the only issue when it comes to redelineation? • Or is it more?
- 4. BASICS OF MALAYSIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM • Parliamentary style government • First Past the Post (FPTP) /Plurality • How to form a government?
- 5. ELECTORAL ISSUES IN MALAYSIA EC Independence • Currently, it is under PM’s office Cleaning Electoral Roll • Dubious address, phantom voters Unfair Redelineation • Redelineation not adhering the Constitution Electoral Financing • Issue of Foreign Donations etc. In BRIEF
- 6. FUNDAMENTALS OF REDELINEATION • Redelineation • Gerrymandering • Malapportionment
- 7. EC’S HISTORY & INDEPENDENCE Source : Malaysia Dateline He (Former EC chief) said three re-delineation exercises of electoral borders, which were done during his time with the EC, had ensured Malays remained in power. "We did it in a proper way. Not illegally. The people who lost in the past general elections claimed that we did it wrong. But if we did, how did Barisan Nasional lose to the opposition in Kelantan, Penang and Selangor?" asked Abdul Rashid. Source : The Malaysian Insider 25/11/2013 Is he saying the complete truth?
- 8. EC’S HISTORY & INDEPENDENCE 1954 • Opted for FPTP and certain rural weightage 1955 • First nationwide Malayan elections 1957 • Initial Apportionment deviation : +/-15% 1960 • First attempt to remove EC chairman
- 9. EC’S HISTORY & INDEPENDENCE 1962 • Rural Weightage Increased. EC loses final say on boundaries 1963 • Deliberate Interstate Malapportionment for new Malaysia 1973 • All limits of apportionment is removed. Parliament has power to add new seats 1973 • Excising KL from Selangor to safeguard Selangor from falling into opposition (until 2008)
- 10. EC’S HISTORY & INDEPENDENCE 1984 • Redelineation upper interval limits removed altogether. Labuan became a separate parliamentary seat 2003 • Many Malay constituencies changed to mixed ethnic seats 2015 • Attempt to undo Sarawak redelineation failed 2016 • Record number of objections against the Redelineation proposals
- 11. REDELINEATION IN MALAYSIAN CONTEXT • What does 13th Schedule of the Constitution says? • State constituencies are not to cross state borders or federal constituency limits • The constituency has sufficient administrative facilities to support the election process • Constituency ought to have approximately equal population with one another with exception for areas that have communication difficulties (rural areas) • Constituency are ought to be drawn that maintain local ties
- 12. REDELINEATION IN MALAYSIAN CONTEXT • General Process of how redelineation is done in current context
- 13. ANALYSING 2016/17 REDELINEATION Source : Penang Institute, SPR Malaysia
- 14. ANALYSING 2016/17 REDELINEATION • Did the 2016/17 Redelineation Addressed Malapportionment?
- 18. ANALYSING 2016/17 REDELINEATION 2nd Round of Redelineation Barisan Nasional DAP PKR PAS & PAN Below – 33% (gross over representation) 28 0 0 0 -15% - 33 % (1962 - 73 limits) 25 2 2 1 -15 % - 15 % (Ideal) 18 13 9 9 15 % - 33 % (1962 - 73 limits) 2 8 7 4 Over 33 % (gross under representation) 7 4 1 3 * Selangor seats are not taken into consideration. Some seats are held now by Independents
- 19. Proposed 1st Round of Redelineation in Selangor has resulted in many super sized seats It is no strange coincidence that super sized seats happen to be solid stronghold of PH government in Selangor (primarily affecting DAP seats)
- 20. ANALYSING 2016/17 REDELINEATION • Did it adhere the constitutional requirement of reviewing of constituencies in Peninsular Malaysia for all states? “In fact I was told they have decided to exclude Selangor in that entire exercise and that is against the law. And we will appeal, we will object if they continue to submit the review without Selangor,” he (Selangor MB Azmin) told reporters at the court complex here. Source: Malay Mail 9th March 2017
- 21. ANALYSING 2016/17 REDELINEATION • Defects of EC Notice of Polling District • Omission of polling district of 876 voters in Johor in the Second Redelineation Report • Adding new polling districts between Redelineation Reports • Changing of polling station population between Redelineation Reports
- 22. ANALYSING 2016/17 REDELINEATION “With a little adjustment at the borders of Tangga Batu and Kota Melaka (parliament seats), God willing we can control voters who don’t support BN so that they’re not in these constituencies.” Melaka Chief Minister Idris Haron Source : FMT 14th August 2016
- 23. ANALYSING 2016/17 REDELINEATION • Proving Gerrymandering? • Understand the shifts of polling stations with certain polling tendencies • OR constituencies that do not preserve local ties • When an objection is filed against EC, which one of these arguments can we use? • Example: Inconveniences for Petaling Jaya Council
- 24. ANALYSING 2016/17 REDELINEATION • Johor • Pagoh – Experienced the biggest drop in voter size in Johor where Muhyiddin is being penalized • Perak • Lumut will be expected to a BN seat in next elections • Kuala Lumpur • Lembah Pantai (PKR seat) at risk of switching in light of police voters
- 25. Proposed First Round of Redelineation in Selangor will result in a very weak PH government
- 26. WHAT ARE MALAYSIANS DOING ABOUT IT? • Record number of objections • Selangor State Government files a statewide objection • Local Councils of Selangor filed their own objections against EC • Penang Government suing EC on ‘shocking information’ • A failed attempt of voters across multiple states to strike out EC’s local inquiries • 7 voters in Melaka filed a judicial review against EC
- 27. CASE STUDY: SARAWAK DELIMITATION • Two Rounds of Delimitation (January & March 2015) • One month to object • Challenges: • Small scale map available • Electoral Roll too costly • Very limited information for objection • Collaborated with Local NGO to file an objection for one seat –providing maps
- 28. CASE STUDY: SARAWAK DELIMITATION Court Case on Redelineation (9 months battle) State Assemblyman & Registered voter (applicants) file a court case against EC Kuching High Court instruct EC to redo redelineation EC appeals to Court of Appeal Court of Appeal override the Kuching High Court’s Ruling Applicants file court case to Federal Court Federal Court upholds EC redelineation
- 29. WHERE TO NEXT • Should redelineation proposal gets passed, the outcome of GE 14 will be predetermined • May create a perception of election fight between UMNO and DAP. • Entrenching racial politics for next two to three GEs. • The future of Malaysia is at best uncertain
- 30. REFERENCES • Wong Chin Huat (Penang Institute) • Dr Lim Hiong Lai (at Tindak’s 2014 Forum presentation) • Tindak Malaysia (Graphics) • Free Malaysia Today • Malaysiakini • YB Ong Kian Ming’s blog • SPR Malaysia (Redelineation Reports)
Editor's Notes
- Good Afternoon everyone. Election is a hot issue in Malaysia especially with GE14 coming up very soon. Today, we will examine in detail one of the biggest ongoing issues in electoral terms back in Malaysia. First of all, I would like to Dr Francis and Dr Hwok Aun for inviting me to present to ISEAS about this matter. I am truly honoured to present in a prestigious institute. I am Danesh and am representing Tindak Malaysia, an NGO dedicated to empower Malaysian voters. I will describe briefly who we are before we lurch into our topic
- Tindak Malaysia was formed in 2008 and became prominent in the NGO scene when we launched electoral monitoring program called PACABA. Basically, we trained many electoral agents to check voting day process such as ballot counting. Subsequently we realized that electoral outcomes in Malaysia has been predetermined before you cast your votes. For the first time in Malaysian history, we outlined to draw all the electoral boundaries in Malaysia and presented our counter proposals for fairer electoral representation. This pushed other larger NGO organization such as Bersih to embark on similar projects to mobilize people to object the unfair system. Currently, we are working to disclose all election boundary data through open data portal and preparing the voters for GE14.
- As I will be speaking for next 45 minutes, I will try to make our presentation as interactive as possible. Let’s look at this cartoon drawn by our famous cartoonist, Zunar. How many of us know Zunar? He is famous for making many cartoons of Najib and Rosmah and he got into trouble with authorities for the cartoons. Interenstingly, Zunar adapted his cartoon with a new idea from our Police Chief to have Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. I start this electoral discussion with this cartoon. Cartoon depicts the electoral issue in Malaysia revolves around one word: Gerrymandering. However, we can’t help to ask ourselves, is this misconception of one issue cloud our analysis of Malaysia? By the end of our presentation, we will realize this cartoon tells half the story of what is going on
- All of us need to learn about Malaysian Electoral System fundamentals. Malaysia is a parliamentary democracy and the government of the day is formed by the majority of the MPs of a coalition or party. As for the present, we have 222 seats in the lower House of Representatives (hence creating the government) and for a government to survive, it needs a minimum of 112 seats. PM has to be one of the MPs who enjoy the confidence of the Parliament. In Malaysia, we practice Single Member Territorial Representation or Single Member Constituency. What do I mean by that? Malaysia has 222 Parliamentary constituencies and each constituency is only allowed to return one MP to the Parliament during elections. We adopt the simplest form of electoral system in the world – First Past the Post (FPTP) and the winner of each system is determined by plurality. In each seat, whoever has the most votes, wins the seat even if the winner only commands 30% of the population consent. In FPTP, you are supposed to indicate the only candidate you want on the ballot. We pause at this moment. Hence in Malaysia, like any country which practice FPTP, the ruling government is formed with winning the right number of seats in right locations. For those who are taking notes, this slide is critical for your understanding. I will summarize what I said just now. (Reexplain the words). Popular vote does not determine the formation of government in Malaysia.
- Now that you know basics of electoral system, we will briefly look into various electoral issues in Malaysia. First and foremost, EC is no longer perceived as Independent bodies. This is the number one issue in our electoral system as EC is subordinated under Prime Minister’s Office. Secondly, the process of drawing electoral boundaries or redelineation does not adhere the Malaysian constitutional principles. It has undermine the concept that every voter is equal irrespective of their location and distorted electoral outcomes. Thirdly, electoral roll that is not clean. We have situations where phantom voters appearing on Election Day, duplicity of votes and voters attached to wrong addresses. Topping that, EC hasn’t gave us full explanation on why 118 000 voters in Malaysia have been teleported. Globally, electoral financing has become hot topic and more so in Malaysia, when the 1MDB story exploded. We will pause at this moment. Let’s reflect these four issues. Today, we will talk about one of the four issues – redelineation.
- Now, when we talk about redelineation, let’s get some terms right. Get your pens ready and start jotting down notes. What is redelienation? Redelineation/ Redistrcting or delimitation is essentially the process of drawing and redrawing of voting areas and assigning the voters to the designated areas. Boundaries are adjusted primarily due to shifts of the population in the country. As redelineation is done at specified intervals (let’s say in Malaysia, not less than 8 years), the implication of redelineation impacts the next two to three general elections. That’s a serious deal. As Malaysia practices FPTP, this system is vulnerable to manipulation of electoral boundaries. As mentioned before, popular votes does not determine the formation of government. The two manipulations called Gerrymandering and Malapportionment distort completely what the voters’ desire for the government. Gerrymandering is essentially a systematic manipulation of electoral boundaries to give partisan advantage to certain parties. It can built on racial and/or political motives. Malapportionment occurs when the seats have huge variation of voter population. While it is practically impossible to create all seats with equal voter population, it is possible to apportion within a set percentage limits. We will pause at this moment and revise what we have learnt.
- Now, we will explore this important topic about EC and how losing its independence impacted our country. To understand what went wrong with our electoral system, we have to go back to time, back to our parent or grandparents time. As Malaya geared to Independence, the plans were drawn to determine the electoral system for Malaysia. Firstly, the committee on election opted for plurality system (similar to British) as opposed to proportional representation. IT generally results in stable government. On the matter of apportionment, all seats ought to have roughly equal population with some rural weightage. This rural weightage favoured the Malays, who then predominately resided in rural areas. While we may never know the intention, it is speculated that the rural weightage allowed UMNO to have dominance in the Alliance (now BN). This rural weightage, from a political sense, allowed the continued the dominance of Malay power amidst of enfranchisement of non Malay voter base. The Reid Commission of 1957 adjusted the malapportionment limits to a strict +/-15% deviation. This reduced the concept of rural weightage in the country. More importantly, it called for the formation of an EC that is impartial and one that inspires confidence of political parties and public. Another adjustment were made that the redelineation of the boundaries must be made between 8 to 10 year intervals. The 1959 elections was the first for post Merdeka Malaysia where it was built on 104 constituencies. As there were significant inroads of Malay and non Malay opposition parties in key areas in the country, the Alliance resorted methods of constitutional amendments to curb electoral power of non Malays. Back then, independent EC proceeded to do a redelineation that adhered the constitution which resulted government and EC having conflicts. Two unsuccessful attempts were made to oust EC chairman who was increasingly showing independence.
- In 1962, significant changes were made to the process of redelineation: 1) The rural weightage was increased from +/-15% to 2 to 1 2) Final say of the Electoral boundaries are not to be held by EC, but transferred to the Parliament with the approval of Prime Minister. Now, EC submits its recommendations to the Prime Minister and passed on the parliament for approval. If not approved, PM makes amendments with consultation of EC and gets approved at parliament subsequently With Malaysia formed in 1963, apportionment of seat numbers for all territories were disproportionate to population size. This was done to address supposed ethnic imbalance in the voter and power composition of the country. In 1973, EC lost the power to apportion parliamentary seats across the states and now, the Parliament is able to add new seats with a two-third majority. More critically, the 1973 act remove completely all the limits for malapportionment. This opened systematic abuse on defining the rural weightage since then. Excising Kuala Lumpur, a strong opposition area, from Selangor resulted Kuala Lumpurians have direct representation at local level in future and saved Selangor from being captured by the opposition until 2008.
- In 1984, redelineation interval term limits were removed altogether. Redelineation should not occur not less than 8 years but no limits after 8 years.