Kuching: DAPSY Sarawak has stressed that the Election Commission (EC) must remain an independent and impartial institution and must not be turned into a political bargaining tool by any ruling coalition.
Its Deputy Chief, Soo Tien Ren, said the statement by the Speaker of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is “not represented” in the EC reflects a dangerous hegemonic mindset that undermines democratic principles.
He said the EC’s strength and credibility depend entirely on its independence from political influence.
“For a Speaker to publicly mention that a ruling party has no representative within the commission is equivalent to demanding that a football team appoint its own staff as the referee.
“This ambition to be ‘both player and referee’ is a blatant desecration of the principle of the separation of powers and a direct insult to the democratic institutions of Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
He said in response to the recent absurd remarks by Asfia, who lamented that “GPS has no representative in the EC,” and the ongoing issue surrounding the redelineation of electoral boundaries.
Meanwhile, regarding the redelineation, Soo said the core technical principle of democracy should guide it, but current realities reek of political calculation.
“We must question GPS: Is the creation of 17 new seats truly to serve the people in remote areas, or is it a calculated move to use ‘Gerrymandering’ to artificially manufacture a lopsided advantage?
“If electoral boundaries can be ‘tailored’ to filter voters, then elections are reduced to a scripted political performance, and democratic competition is effectively dead,” he said.
He added, the maneuvers by GPS are pushing Sarawak into a “Zombie Democracy”: where the act of voting remains, but the foundation of fair competition has been destroyed; where elections appear to proceed as usual, but the outcomes have been pre-shaped in a black box.
“The moment executive power attempts to reach into the EC, the democratic legitimacy of Sarawak is fundamentally compromised.
“We strongly demand that the EC immediately disclose any proposal for redelineation. All of it must publicly disclose, including its standards, data, and demographic justifications, and must be subject to rigorous oversight by independent third parties and bipartisan committees,” he said.
Soo said, democracy is not the personal property of GPS, nor is it a piece of plasticine to be molded at their whim.
“Sarawak does not need a system that is ‘democratic in name, but autocratic in nature.’ If GPS continues to use “representation” as a pretext to manipulate elections, it is not the democratic system that will eventually be discarded, but the group of autocratic politicians who believe they are above the law and the will of the people.
“The credibility of our democracy must not be squandered; the dignity of the people of Sarawak must not be trampled,” he said.
