Protest mounts over Malaysian PM's plan to redraw electoral map

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Hundreds of Malaysians protested on Wednesday against Prime Minister (PM) Najib Razak’s plan to push through a controversial proposal to redraw electoral boundaries just months ahead of a general election that must be held by August.

The opposition and critics say Najib is trying to bulldoze through parliament changes to electoral boundaries they say would benefit his ruling coalition, facing arguably its toughest polls since independence nearly 61 years ago.

The government says the plan was drawn up by the Election Commision (EC), and not the government, and is free from political interference.

Opponents of the redrawing process say it shoves opposition-inclined voters into opposition-held seats to create super-constituencies and also reshapes constituencies to have more distinct ethnic majorities.

Protesters, rallying under the banner of pro-democracy group Bersih, gathered at a national monument close to the parliament wearing yellow T-shirts – Bersih’s signature color – and carrying banners and placards. Opposition leaders also joined the protests.

Security was heightened at parliament’s main gate, which was blocked by riot police, some armed with teargas guns.

Bersih aims to hand over a memorandum to parliament’s speaker, outlining their reasons why he should scrap the government’s motion seeking approval for its redelineation exercise.

“We totally do not agree with the (EC) report. This is the biggest cheating to ever happen,” said Maria Chin Abdullah, the former chairwoman of Bersih. “They want to bulldoze the report that contradicts the constitution, ignores the rule of law and manipulates the electoral rolls,” she said.