Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali, in a statement today, shot down the suggestion mooted by Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua of the DAP, saying the mandate delivered to the state government by voters in the 2013 general election must be respected and should not be cast aside for political expediency.
He was referring to Pua’s comments at a press conference earlier today that it would be “stupid” to wait for after the redelineation proposals were approved, as the EC’s move was a “clear cut case” of racial electoral manipulation.
“Furthermore, at this time, it is both prudent and proper to support the efforts of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) and all political parties to facilitate voters to exercise their constitutionally enshrined rights to object to the redelineation proposed by the EC,” Azmin said, adding that his office was also exploring other legal measures that could be pursued to uphold the Constitution and the principle of representative democracy.
“Democracy can and should be defended by the people. The voters must have their say to the EC. The Selangor Government will make every effort to support and uphold democratic rights.”
Pua said earlier today that the EC’s redelineation proposals would make it even harder for Pakatan Harapan (PH) to notch victories, if it was passed.
“It would be ‘stupid’ of Pakatan Harapan to hold elections after the redelineation is approved,” he said at the press conference which was also attended by his DAP colleague, Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming.
However, Pua said he would leave it to the Pakatan Harapan leadership to have the final say and that DAP would respect the views of its partners.
His call for snap polls in the state comes days after DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang made a similar suggestion in light of the redelineation proposals made by the EC, which he described as having “butchered” the map of Selangor.
Azmin had then poured cold water on the suggestion, making this the second time PKR had rejected a call from its Opposition ally to hold snap elections.
In July, PKR President Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had opposed DAP’s push for snap elections to be held in Penang after its Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was charged with corruption on June 30.
Wan Azizah had said at the time, it had no confidence in the proposal. There were also fears that PKR was at greater risk if snap polls were held.