KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission’s (EC) redelineation of constituencies, which came into effect on Thursday, has been strongly criticised as flawed, unfair and illegal by the Malaysian Bar and the election reform movement Bersih 2.0.

The EC’s report was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on March 28.

The Bar said it was deeply disturbed by the procedural issues that affected the process both in Sarawak in 2015 and later in Peninsular Malaysia.

It identified a range of concerns that were raised during the exercise:

Voters had registered their objections about the inadequate information provided by the EC about the changes that it had proposed.

Some voters’ objections had been rejected on procedural grounds and the first round of the local inquiry had been rushed.

The EC had refused to allow objectors to fully air their objections.

The right of the objectors to have legal counsel present had been denied, and the EC had refused to hear some objectors during the second round of the local inquiry.

The Bar was also critical of some of the judicial responses to legal challenges made in the course of the redelineation process.

“The courts appear to have denied litigants access to a legal remedy and, in so doing, failed to protect and uphold the Federal Constitution,” Bar president George Varughese said in a statement on Tuesday.

Emphasising the importance of the separation of powers, the Bar said that the Legislature must oppose any attempt by the Executive branch to rush through legislation to meet its own political agenda and timetable.

The difference in size among constituencies was also highlighted by the Bar.

“After 60 years of independence, it is incredible that the variation between the smallest and largest seat (by voter size) in Parliament has actually increased over time, rather than decreased,” said Varughese.

“By disrespecting and totally disregarding the principle of 'one person, one vote, one value', the proposals are fundamentally flawed,” he said.

BERSIH2.0 maintained in a statement that the process leading to the gazettement of the redelineation exercise was procedurally illegal as the EC had yet to complete the second round of local inquiries in Selangor.

The issue was being challenged in the Shah Alam High Court by 107 complainants representing a group of over 10,000 voters, the movement’s steering committee said.

In addition, the redelineation report’s recommendations would severely affect the integrity of the electoral system, the statement said.

Citing seven issues, including malapportionment and excluding 59% of constituencies from the exercise, Bersih said that it rejected the redelineation process.

“The Election Commission has not only disregarded due process and constitutional procedures. It has also proposed recommendations that violate key principles required by the constitution,” it said.