BN and Umno will hold a special meeting on Sept 23 and 30 respectively to discuss the Election Commission's (EC) proposed redelineation exercise, said BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.
Any decision arrived in the meetings will be brought to the EC, he said.
"The number of seats and the boundaries will determine the seats the government will win, thus the whole process will affect us greatly. All the parties should be concerned," he was quoted as saying by Oriental Daily today.
Earlier, Tengku Adnan, who is also Umno secretary-general, said the party should mobilise its election machinery and have its branches and divisions inspect the electoral roll.
This is to ensure better preparation for a possible early election, he said.
Ethnic politics worries MCA
Meanwhile, BN component parties MCA and Gerakan have expressed their opposition towards the EC's redelineation proposal.
The exercise will worsen the split in the community as voters appear to be pushed to different constituencies based on their ethnicity, said MCA president Liow Tiong Lai.
This is against MCA's belief in advocating harmonious relationship among the multiracial community, he said when officiating Kapar MCA's annual general assembly.
"The government will not be able to push for multiracial and moderate political ideas," he said.
Liow added that the country will risk moving toward racism and theocracy, which would gradually throw the Chinese community into crisis.
"I have instructed the affected MCA divisions to submit reports to the central leadership. This is to enable the party to analyse the situation after getting all the input," he said.
MCA will then submit its views to the EC to rectify the problem so as to maintain the country's unity.
At a press conference later, Liow stressed it was wrong and unhealthy to conduct the redelineation exercise according to voters' race, saying that this would lead to ethnic politics.
Gerakan's chances affected
Meanwhile, Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong said the proposed redelineation exercise will affect the party's chances of winning in the 45 federal and state seats it contested.
Part of the traditional seats contested, including Teluk Intan, Beruas and Taiping, will be moved out, he said, adding that this will be unfair to the party as its grassroots had been working hard there.
Gerakan has identified them as being among the constituencies it can win in the next general election, he said.
The party has mobilised 100 locals to oppose the redelineation, he said.
