EC denies Malaysia’s voting system will keep BN in power forever
Amin Iskandar, TMI
The Election Commission (EC) has denied claims that the first-past-the-post voting system practised in Malaysia will keep the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) in power forever, while insisting that it is among the best electoral systems in the world.
Academics have said malapportionment — unequally-sized constituencies — and gerrymandering — manipulation of electoral boundaries — have led to one rural vote being equal to six urban votes in the May 5 general election where Pakatan Rakyat (PR) won the popular vote but BN got to form the government.
“This first past the post, it’s not until forever that BN will win. This first past the post is a simple system where (there’s a) contest for seats in an area,” the EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar told The Malaysian Insider in an exclusive interview.
“Because of this first past the post, BN did not get two-thirds majority in PRU13 (13th general election). Because of this first past the post, the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government won with two-thirds majority in the state assembly (DUN),” he added.
According to Wan Ahmad, the electoral system used in Malaysia is also used by developed countries that have been practising democracy for a long time.
“Britain, already a few hundred years practising democracy, until now it uses first past the post.
“Australia, first past the post. New Zealand first past the post mixed a bit with the proportional representation (PR) system. India, the largest democratic country in the world, 800 million voters, first past the post,” he said.
The EC deputy chairman said it would not be possible for PR to win so many seats, including a few states, if the “first-past-the-post” system was unfair.
“Because of this first past the post, Kelantan was ruled by one party only, PAS for 25 years. In Penang, DAP won in all the seats it contested. I feel that those who make these statements do not understand the electoral system in Malaysia,” Wan Ahmad said.
PR currently rules the three states of Kelantan, Penang, Selangor after it recently lost its one-term PAS-led administration in Kedah to BN and failed to recapture Perak.
