(From left) Md Idrus with Japiril (second left), Shuaib (third left), Stephan (fourth end), and the EC officers at the meeting table.
KOTA KINABALU: On its own initiative, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) arranged a courtesy call on the director of the Election Commission at his office here to seek some answers regarding the status of the redelineation exercise carried out by the department.
The exercise, to redraw electoral boundaries once every eight years to cater to development and the increase in the number of voters, was supposed to start last year.
During the courtesy call led by SAPP vice president and treasurer-general, Japiril Suhaimin, they were told by the EC director, Datuk Hj Md Idrus Ismail, that the new re-delineation exercise had stalled since April 2014 because the EC had to concentrate its attention on the delineation of 11 new areas for the Sarawak state assembly which will automatically be dissolved in June 2016.
According to Md Idrus, the delay was also due to objections from the NGO Bersih and PKR. Therefore, the EC is still waiting for the outcome of the court before any decision is made.
On the issue of redrawing boundaries in Sabah, Md Idrus said, the proposal to create seven new areas is history.
“Most likely there will be a reduction or addition of a new area,” he said. Adding to the puzzle, he also said that there is a great possibility of adding new areas.
Commenting on the meeting, Japiril stated that logically when viewed in terms of population increase and density for every constituency in Sabah, there is high possibility that new constituencies will be created as it can facilitate administration.
“However the re-delineation exercise should be transparent and free from any hidden agenda,” he added.
Also present during the courtesy call were SAPP vice president, Dato Shuaib Mutalib and organising secretary, Stephan Gaiman.