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New EC chief must work on fair seat distribution, says ex-MP

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Ong Kian Ming highlights demands from Sabah and Sarawak, and the need to shrink oversized constituencies such as the 300,000-voter Bangi.

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Free Malaysia Today
The next chairman of the Election Commission should not be another former civil servant, said Bersih chief Faisal Aziz.

PETALING JAYA:
The next chairman of the Election Commission must juggle the demands of Sabah and Sarawak for a third of parliamentary seats, and the need to shrink oversized constituencies, says a former MP.

Ong Kian Ming, speaking at a Bersih forum on the EC chairmanship, said nominees for the EC chairmanship should be vetted by a parliamentary committee before the chairman is appointed.

Bersih chairman Faisal Aziz said the practice of appointing former civil servants to head the EC should be stopped. An independent chairman was needed to carry out reforms.

Ong said one pressing matter was to resize seats with an overwhelmingly large electorate of above 200,000.

He said his former Bangi constituency had nearly 300,000 voters and needed an urgent downsizing. The issue was one of the reasons he refused to defend his seat in the 2022 general election.

Ong also challenged Perikatan Nasional to get the state governments in Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu to have more seats and adjust existing seats for a fairer representation.

“By agreeing to do so, this would give an incentive to the moderates, especially the non-Malays, to support PN,” he said.

Faisal said former civil servants might not be familiar with matters related to elections and have difficulty in carrying out reforms.

“They might be good in executing plans or agendas for the government, but they might struggle in carrying out the reforms we want. That is why we need a credible and independent chairman who can carry out reforms,” he said.

Faisal said a good candidate could be in the form of EC commissioner Faisal Syam Abdol Hazis, a former academic from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The EC chairmanship is vacant following the recent retirement of Ghani Salleh, a former civil servant. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said recently a new chairman had been decided.

The chairman and members of the EC are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

On May 25, EC deputy chairman Azmi Sharom called for a transparent appointment process, describing the current procedure as secretive and lacking clarity.

Anwar responded the next day, saying “We do not consult the EC deputy chairman on appointments. We have to follow due process.”

Bersih had previously called on Putrajaya to establish a parliamentary committee to overhaul the appointment process for the EC chief.

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