DAP today urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to form a consensus with Pakatan Rakyat to provide for a fair redelineation of the electoral constituencies in the country, which is slated to start later this year.

NONEAcknowledging that the BN formed the federal government despite not getting the support of the majority of the people, DAP national adviser Lim Kit Siang said the immediate task in constituency redelineation would be to address the imbalances that were unfair and undemocratic.

"The immediate task would be re-delineation of the electoral constituencies... the ruling BN has been able to be in power because of unfair and undemocratic imbalances in the constituencies," Lim said.

The BN therefore was a minority government now, and Najib was a minority prime minister, he said.

"This is a travesty of democracy and should not continue. We demand that all Malaysians be allowed to vote according to the proper delineation of constituencies," Lim told a press conference at the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

He pointed out that votes in Putrajaya had nine times more value compared with Kapar, which has 144,000 voters compared with the 16,000 voters in the federal administrative capital.

"In this case, one vote in Putrajaya is equal to nine votes in Kapar. This is outrageous, ridiculous and undemocratic.

"In the coming constituency re-delineation exercise, I call on the prime minister to take the lead and ensure there is an all-party consensus based on democratic and fair principles, not just one man, one vote but also one value," Lim said.

If the BN government does not have the political will for such reform, he added, "then the prime minister should resign and BN should allow Pakatan to take over".

‘Third force handed BN two-thirds in Sabah’

Lim, who is newly-minted Gelang Patah MP, also reiterated his proposal that his former Umno rival Abdul Ghani Othman be appointed as a senator and minister by Najib.

“The fact was Abdul Ghani was sent to Gelang Patah to end his political career, that is cruel and unjust.

“I suggest he be appointed as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department to help with economic planning in the country, replacing Nor Mohamed Yakcop,” he said of his rival who he had previously described as a “Malay gentleman”.

Also present at the press conference was Sabah DAP chief Jimmy Wong, who said that Pakatan could have denied BN a two-thirds majority in the Sabah state assembly had there not been three-cornered fights.

“Assuming there was a one-to-one fight between Pakatan and BN, Pakatan could have won another eight state seats and four parliamentary seats.

“We could have ended their majority but it was disastrously blocked by the third force,” he said.

However, Wong promised a lively debate in the Sabah state assembly as Pakatan now has 11 opposition state assemblypersons there, on top of another from Sabah-based party Star.

Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua announced that Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Pakatan will be holding a thanksgiving rally tomorrow in front of the Amcorp Mall field at 7pm tomorrow.

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