Mixed reaction to Court of Appeal’s decision

SHAH ALAM: Pakatan Harapan should accept the Court of Appeal's dismissal of a stay against local enquiries into the Election Commission's (EC) redelineation exercise in Selangor, says the Selangor MCA.

Its state liaison committee secretary Datuk Ng Chok Sin said the same spirit should be upheld just like how they accepted the earlier High Court judgment that was in their favour.

"They should do the same for the Court of Appeal's decision.

"Pakatan cannot simply claim that the judiciary is independent when decisions are in their favour and then cry foul later when rulings are against them," he told reporters here yesterday.

Ng, who is also the MCA Religious Harmony Bureau deputy chairman, also noted that regardless of the redelineation outcome, Selangor MCA is ready to go to the battleground.

Selangor Umno deputy chief Datuk Mat Nadzari Ahmad Dahlan said that everyone should respect the court decision.

"EC has the right to appeal to set aside a stay.

"With or without the decision, all of us in Selangor Barisan Nasional will go ahead with what has been planned," he said.

Asked if there would be new areas in Selangor should the redelineation exercise take place and if it might benefit Selangor Umno to recapture the state, Mat Nadzari opined that there would be no additional area.

In a statement, Bersih 2.0 steering committee said the judgment was not made in the interest of ensuring clean and fair elections.

“To proceed to hold local enquiries without establishing nor resolving the concerns addressed will result in ineffectiveness by way of implementation, waste of government resources and failure to take into account electoral best practices and respect for the right of voters,” it said.

In PENANG, Pulau Betong Umno assemblyman Datuk Muhammad Farid Saad said while he was disappointed with the court ruling on the redelineation exercise, he was glad that the process could now proceed smoothly.

“It is not only the Opposition seats that are affected but also Barisan Nasional’s, especially the state seats in Balik Pulau.

“However, the court ruling is timely as the exercise must be completed before the general election which is just around the corner,” he said.

DAP’s Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said he was disappointed as the party filed the case against the EC because the way the exercise was carried out was “unconstitutional”.

In KOTA BARU, Parti Amanah Negara secretary-general Anuar Tahir called on the EC not to make a mockery of democracy by ignoring complaints of alleged irregularities in its redelineation exercise.