By Simon Peter
KUCHING, Nov 11, 2014: Padungan State Assemblyman Wong Wing Wei has cautioned that the Dewan Undangan Negeri
(Composition of Membership) Bill 2014 may have contravened the Article 117 of the
Federal Constitution?
The Bill sought to increase the number of state lawmakers
from the present 71 to 82. It was later passed after much debate.
Wong, in posing a
question whether the Bill had contravened Article 117, said that amendment, in
just one sentence, had failed to inform where the additional seats were and why
the delineation of seats had to be done.
"If we just pass this Bill just with one simple
sentence, without any due consideration of the principles relating to
delineation, this August house is put to a great risk of amending the State
Constitution in violation of Federal Constitution.
"This is something very serious and may rendered
this Ordinance be declared invalid by the Court of Law," he said when
debating on the Bill which was tabled by Housing Minister Abang Johari Openg.
He added:" Therefore, I am reserving my support to
this Bill, until and unless the 11 new seats and the reasons for delineation
are disclosed to this august house.
"As a responsible legislator, we can’t just blindly
allow a piece of legislation to be passed without knowing what it is
about," he stressed.
He said the delineation exercise must not be done simply
and that it must be strict adherence to the Federal Constitution.
Wong said Article
117 of the Federal Constitution states that "for the election of members
to the Legislative Assembly of a State, the State shall be divided into as many
constituencies as there are elected members, so that one member shall be
elected for each constituency; and the division shall be made in accordance
with the provisions contained in the Thirteenth Schedule.
"Therefore any delineation on State constituencies
shall be made in accordance with the provisions contained in the 13th Schedule.
"What are stated in the 13th Schedule? The 13th Schedule provides the principles
relating to delineation. There are constitutional principles for delineation
exercise. As a member of this August House, we must not simply allow any
delineation without keeping our observation on Federal Constitution,
particularly the 13th Schedule," he
stressed.
He said in Part I Clause 2 of the 13th Schedule, it provides that:-
2. The following principles shall as far as possible be
taken into account in dividing any unit of review into constituencies pursuant
to the provisions of Articles 116 and 117-
(a) while having regard to the desirability of giving all
electors reasonably convenient opportunities of going to the polls,
constituencies ought to be delimited so that they do not cross State boundaries
and regard ought to be had to the inconveniences of State constituencies
crossing the boundaries of federal constituencies;
(b) regard ought to be had to the administrative
facilities available within the constituencies for the establishment of the
necessary registration and polling machines;
(c) the number of electors within each constituency in a
State ought to be approximately equal except that, having regard to the greater
difficulty of reaching electors in the country districts and the other
disadvantages facing rural constituencies, a measure of weightage for area
ought to be given to such constituencies;
(d) regard ought to be had to the inconveniences attendant
on alterations of constituencies, and to the maintenance of local ties.
He added the 13th Schedule clearly stated that one of the
principles in dividing the constituencies is the number of electors.
"Number of electors within each constituency must be
equal unless the area is too big, causing difficulties in reaching the
electors.
"But I have an example here, it is not a comparison
between urban and rural constituencies, but a comparison between both urban
seats, that is, my constituency and my neighbouring constituency, Satok."
Based on the 2011 state election, he said Satok had
10,431 registered voters while Padungan had 23,576 voters.
"What it means is that I am representing more than
double than the people in Satok. I should have at least two votes in this house
while Satok should have one," Wong asserted.
He said the total turnout in Padungan in the 2011 state
election was 16,469, more than the total number of voters of Satok.
"That is unfair," he declared.
Wong said the nearby Pending constituency had 29,488 registered
voters in 2011.
"If Honourable member for Satok has one vote in this
house, Pending should be given three votes," Wong added.
He said the
delineation exercise must be done with due care and with justifiable reasons,
pursuant to Federal Constitution.
:”
Wong commented “desirable and necessary” was not one of
the principles of for the delineation.
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