Press release (16th July 2019): Bersih 2.0 Reveals Sabah Delineation Report And Offers Paying Fine For Breaking Parliament’s Embargo

Bersih 2.0 reveals the 2017 Sabah delineation review report online and offers to pay fine RM 1,000 to the Speaker’s Office for breaking the Parliament’s embargo. The report was tabled on July 8 and scheduled for debate and voting on adoption on July 17 (Wednesday).

Bersih 2.0 expresses deep disappointment that its call on July 9 for the embargo to be lifted was ignored and that the public is kept in the dark on this important decision as no media could report on the report. 

Bersih 2.0 believes that the public must be informed of the report’s content before parliamentarians vote on it, and has no choice but to violate the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 to reveal the full content of the report.

Bersih 2.0 urges all media and social media users to share the link where the scanned copy of the report may be downloaded: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17yt4U1XminaBTQxSKFHKn2qRckknX1xt/view?usp=sharing

Bersih 2.0 had warned that the two-years-old proposal is malicious, flawed and obsolete.

https://www.bersih.org/press-release-9-july-2019-2017-delimitation-proposal-for-sabah-obsolete-and-incompatible-with-lowering-of-voting-age-and-automatic-registration

  • The largest parliamentary constituency, P171 Sepanggar (55,294) has 2.22 times as many voters as the smallest, P183 Beluran (24,916)
  • The largest state constituency, N69 Sri Tanjong (25,104) has 4.58 times as many voters as the smallest, N01 Banggi (5,485).
  • The excessive malapportionment of constituencies will be worsened with the lowering of voting age to 18 and automatic voter registration, with the likelihood that 300,000-400,000 new voters added to Sabah’s existing electorate of 1,117,337 by GE15, disproportionally in urban area.

Tindak Malaysia which shares our position provides a more detailed analysis https://web.facebook.com/notes/tindakmalaysiacom/sabahs-13-new-seats-unfortunate-exercise-amidst-electoral-changes/2439334269458521/?_rdc=1&_rdr

Bersih 2.0 stresses that redelineation is necessary for Sabah and most other states and this should start once after the lowering of voting age and automatic voter registration. 

Bersih 2.0 calls upon the Sabah State Government to resolve this problem by promising another amendment to state constitution to increase its seats by one or more once the expansion of electorate is in place.

Bersih 2.0, therefore, repeats its call for the Federal Government to cancel the debate and voting on tomorrow and urges all MPs, especially the 26 from Sabah and Labuan, to vote against it or at least abstain if it goes on.

Bersih 2.0 says, “New Malaysia” is hollow if matters of great public interests are hidden from the public before a decision is made and is therefore prepared to bear the full responsibility for breaking the embargo. A payment of RM 1,000, the maximum fine permissible under the Act, will be delivered to the Speaker’s Office later today.

Bersih 2.0 further urges all concerned citizens to write to their parliamentarians, whose emails are available here https://www.parlimen.gov.my/ahli-dewan.html?uweb=dr&, to urge them to vote against the adoption of the Sabah delineation review report or to at least abstain from voting.

Statement issued by:

Steering Committee of Bersih 2.0