The Penang chief minister called the move shocking, claiming it would create more racial enclaves to divide and turn Malaysians against each other.
“The recent constituency redelineation is a shocking exercise of not only shameless political gerrymandering but also irresponsible ‘electoral apartheid’.
“By lumping racial groups in one constituency instead of having mixed seats, the Election Commission is adopting a racist formula.
“It will have voters seeing themselves as Malays first, Chinese first, Indian first, Iban first or Kadazan first instead of Malaysian first,” Lim said in a statement here today.
Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation and discrimination that existed in South Africa between 1948 and 1994.
Lim said by creating racial blocs and having some seats packed with people who are seen to favour the opposition, it was against the constitution’s “one person, one vote, one value” principle.
“This would allow Barisan Nasional to appeal to the devil of racism and extremism instead of appealing to the common values of justice, fair treatment, rule of law, freedom and democracy,” Lim said.
He alleged that the EC was following the wishes of the ruling BN government by adopting a dangerous formula to further deepen the racial divide in the country.
“American civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King had once said: ‘Unity is the great need of the hour. Unity is how we shall overcome.’
“Malaysians must unite against those who wish to build walls that separate us and push us into racial enclaves to divide and turn Malaysians against each other,” Lim said.
On Wednesday, the Dewan Rakyat passed the motion on the redelineation of electoral boundaries after MPs from both sides debated for some two hours. There were 129 MPs who voted in support of the motion, and 80 who opposed it.
Prime Minister Najib Razak had tabled the bill earlier in the day, amid protests against the redelineation outside the Parliament building by opposition MPs, Bersih 2.0 and other activists.
In tabling the bill, Najib said the EC’s recommendations did not propose any change to the number of parliamentary and state constituencies but only suggested renaming 12 parliamentary and 28 state seats.
There are a total of 222 parliamentary seats and 587 state seats.
The last time Parliament approved a revision to the electoral boundaries was in 2003. According to the Federal Constitution, a review is necessary at least once every eight years.