“A person would need to head to Jalan Segambut, then to Jalan Duta, and make a turn just before Jalan Parlimen to Bukit Aman,” PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil, who is speculated to stand as the party’s candidate in Lembah Pantai, told a fund-raising dinner last night.
“Bukit Bintang is nearer to the Bukit Aman constituency. How is Lembah Pantai connected to Bukit Aman?” he asked.
Lembah Pantai is among 10 parliamentary seats in the capital affected by the Election Commission’s (EC) redelineation of constituencies, passed in the Dewak Rakyat on Wednesday amid protests and allegations of gerrymandering by the opposition.
Lembah Pantai will see the inclusion of some 6,500 voters from the Tasik Perdana voting district, raising allegations that the controversial postal votes, which critics say have traditionally favoured Barisan Nasional (BN), will be used.
The seat, which includes the working class areas of Pantai Dalam and the middle class suburbs of Bangsar, was once a stronghold of BN, represented by Umno’s Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
In 2008, Nurul Izzah Anwar won the seat, which she defended again in 2013 despite a stiff challenge from Lembah Pantai Umno division chief Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.
Fahmi said Lembah Pantai would now have almost 8,000 postal voters from Bukit Aman and the Jalan Travers police station.
“We need to take over Putrajaya, to stop such bad practices and cheating,” said the former aide to Nurul Izzah.
He also said the constituency’s racial demographics would be altered, with an increase of Malay voters from 56% to 62%, and a 3% reduction of non-Malays.
Fahmi had recently highlighted the case of Lembah Pantai voters who discovered that their names were transferred to Sekinchan, which is under the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat in Selangor, without their knowledge.
Long-time Lembah Pantai residents surprised to find they are now Sekinchan voters