The people of Selangor are not stupid. On the contrary, they are the most enlightened with regard to national politics and the economy, said PKR vice-president Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin.
He was responding to Selangor DAP chief Tony Pua, who said only the "stupid" would want to hold an election in the state after the redelineation exercise is carried out by the Election Commission.
Training his guns on the EC, Shamsul said the commission should be objective in the process or redrawing electoral boundaries.
"It should be based on logical factors towards the direction of levelling the playing field as opposed to making the situation worse.
"The proses must also reflect the multiracial Malaysian society and not worsen race problems in Malaysia," he added in a statement.
However, Shamsul is confident that the people want change as they have lost faith in the national leadership.
"The failure of the prime minister to provide an explanation on the 1MDB issue is driving the people towards a change in leadership," he said.
Convinced that the Selangor government has served all races well, the PKR leader said whatever changes made to the electoral boundaries would not see the state return to BN.
Shamsul said while PKR is aware that the EC's proposal created fresh challenges for the opposition, it would not concede by holding a snap polls.
He revealed that during PKR's political bureau meeting last night, it was agreed that the party would act in accordance with the call by Bersih to use all channels available to object the redelineation, including legal action.
Earlier today, Pua said that Selangor DAP decided at an emergency meeting last night that a snap polls should be held.
"If you ask anybody on the street, they would also say the same thing.
"You would be stupid to say we should only have an election after the redelineation is completed," he said.
Yesterday, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali dismissed the need for a snap polls, stating it would be a betrayal of the voters’ mandate in the previous general election.
The proposal for a snap polls in Selangor was first mooted by DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang.
Meanwhile, Azmin, when quizzed on Pua’s remark, described it as a personal viewpoint, and preferred not to dwell on it further.
