FOCUS 505 One year ago, trending in almost all social network sites in Malaysia was a call for change or “Ubah”, varying in intonation and languages.

A large slice of the Malaysian community were ready to see a new coalition form the government for the first time in Malaysian history.

When the result of the elections were announced on the night of May 5, 2013, many changed their Facebook profile pictures to a silent black image.

Reverberating from electronic screens was a silent protest against the results, which after various allegations of fraud and gerrymandering left a bitter memory of the elections for both sides of the political divide.

People flooded stadiums and open areas to join in a series of “Black 505” rallies organised by Pakatan Rakyat; and yet, a short one ­and­ a­ half month after the polls, the nationwide rallies fizzled out in the midst of dwindling crowd sizes.

A year after May 5 general elections, which saw BN return to power with 133 parliamentary seats despite winning just 47 percent of popular vote, the civil society and political parties are once again galvanising support to push for electoral reforms.

Top on its agenda is the flaws of the Election Commission (EC), which is embarking on a re­delineation process despite stiff opposition from many parties due to fear of gerrymandering.

According to electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0's new chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, the concerns stem from past re­delineation exercises.

“Each time re­delineation is done, it gives the government a landslide victory­ two thirds majority to be exact. This is very critical,” she told Malaysiakini.

Prepping for battle

For Maria (right), the efforts taken to stall the re­delineation process and 'making life hard' for the EC will have direct implications on the 14th general election which can be called as early as 2016.

Even before the boundaries are put up for public viewing, Bersih has already mobilised people to object and is setting up a team of lawyers who are ready to take the EC to court for drawing new electoral boundaries before the roll is cleaned up.

Cleaning up the roll has been on Bersih's list of demands since its first mammoth rally in 2007.

Under the constitution, 100 registered voters from any affected constituency can object a new boundary, and thus prompt a local enquiry on the review.

“If you don’t clean up the electoral roll, you will have the same problem cropping up in the new boundary. And the electoral roll is already bloated,” Maria said.

Having been behind among the biggest public rallies Malaysia has seen to date, Bersih is often asked when it would take to the streets again. Having taken over post GE13, Maria is accustomed to it and has a ready answer.

“When all else fails (to stop re­delineation), the people will be angry for sure. And there is a possibility of going to the streets. If the EC keep doing what they do without consultation, it depends on how things pan out,” she said.

Back from lull

“I feel confident that people are getting back in the mood of wanting change. There is no doubting there was a lull period, but the spirit is coming back again.

“Maybe now people have realised change is not easy, it takes time­ and perhaps now is the time,” she added.

The massive turnout of 50,000 people at the anti­goods and services tax (GST) rally on May 1 in Kuala Lumpur indicates that Maria's feel for ground sentiments is not off the mark.

She is also certain that if the government does not heed civil society demands for improvements, GE14 could yield a “different” result.

PKR strategist Rafizi Ramli (right) is on the same page.

“I don’t think attracting the crowd will be difficult at all. I think that can be done easily. But now, we must educate the people on what is re­delineation and its impact,” Rafizi said.

He says that when that happens, people will attend rallies on the matter to “keep the BN in check”.

“Whether it is any issue, be it GST, electoral reform, prices of goods, the people are galvanised against BN. They are just waiting for the cue,” Rafizi said.

Indeed, he said, if redelination is pushed through Parliament, Pakatan is likely to yet again take to the streets.

However, any changes to the electoral boundaries, which will result in a reduction or addition of seats will require two­thirds majority in Parliament. This is a luxury the BN no longer has.

“If they continue in this manner, without being transparent, they can expect another round of public protests,” Rafizi said.

Too early to think of polls?

Galvanising ground support for a technical issue like re­delineation may not be as easy the GST, one of DAP's mover shakers Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong cautioned.

Although arguably equally technical, he said, the GST is a matter of economic justice.

“I think we are entering a new phase, we are pioneering a new debate, basically questioning the economic model and economic justice. You might not see the impact immediately, it will take some time,” he said.

“When we started talking about electoral reform in 2005, not many people were aware. Then, when elections came close, there was suddenly this surge of interest, and everyone started participating and talking about it, especially before the 2013 elections,” he added.

If this is true, shining the spotlight on electoral reform years before talk of snap polls would even inch towards the headlines will not be an easy task.