by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, February 20, 1993:
Call on Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abu Talib, to advise the Cabinet that there is no need to amend Section 3 of the 1992 Constitution Amendment Act as it was not the cause for the illegal and unconstitutional constituency redelineation exercise by the Election Commission
I call on Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abu Talib, to advise the Cabinet that there is no need to amend Section 3 of the 1992 Constitution Amendment Act as it was not the cause for the illegal and unconstitutional constituency redelineation exercise by the Election Commission.
The Election Commission has misled the people when it claimed that it had to cancel the constituency redelineation exercise because of ‘ a technical oversight’ by Parliament in passing Section 3 of the 1992 Constitution Amendment Bill to increase 12 new Parliamentary seats.
In fact, Section 3 of the 1992 Constitution Amendment Act is an enabling provision empowering the Election Commission to review the redelineation of the electoral constituencies both under Article 113(2) as well as Article 113(3A) of the Constitution.
It would make Parliament look very foolish if it should repeal or amend Section 3 of the 1992 Constitution Amendment Act when there is nothing wrong with this section, but just to give the Election Commission the excuse for canceling the constituency redelineation exercise instead of having to admit that the DAP was right in its legal action to stop the Election Commission from continuing to act illegally and unconstitutionally.
I believe up to now, no Cabinet Minister understand what is the ‘technical oversight’ or the ‘minor technical problem’ the Election Commission is referring to as justification for cancellation of its redelineation exercise. All Cabinet Ministers would have agreed however that the Election Commission and the Government should not publicly concede to the DAP although the Election Commission had no choice but to surrender to the DAP’s legal case in the Kuala Lumpur High Court last Tuesday.
The Cabinet Ministers and Election Commission want to ‘play politics’ with the issue of cancellation of the redelineation exercise, but there is no reason why the Attorney-General’s Chambers should compromise its legal integrity and credibility by recommending the repeal or amendment or amendment of Section 3 of the 1992 Constitution Amendment Act when there is wrong with this section.