The motion on the redelineation of electoral boundaries will be tabled at the Dewan Rakyat only and need not be passed by the Dewan Negara, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid said the motion will only need a simple majority, which is 111 out of the 220 MPs.

Jelebu MP Zainudin Ismail died in December last year, while Paya Besar MP Abdul Manan Ismail died last month.

“So I am confident BN will get more than that, as the coalition has 132 MPs.

“As soon as the motion is passed at the Dewan Rakyat and receives the assent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for gazetting, it becomes a motion, and need not be taken to the Dewan Negara,” he said at a luncheon with editors-in-chief of media outlets and publication permit holders in Putrajaya today.

Zahid, who is also BN chief whip explained the Dewan Rakyat will sit from March 5 to April 5 while the Dewan Negara will begin sitting from April 16 to 30.

He added that the motion on the redelineation of electoral boundaries would be tabled after the debate on the speech by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had been completed, and other acts had been tabled, including the Supplementary Supply Bill.

“That's all that I can say. This is official information that we know, the date of dissolution I don't know, and the polling date too I do not know,” he said.

Last Saturday, Zahid said the government had yet to decide on the date of tabling the motion on the redelineation of electoral boundaries.

He will have a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to discuss the date for tabling the motion.

Also present at the luncheon were Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed, Home Ministry secretary-general Alwi Ibrahim, Bernama chairperson Azman Ujang and general manager Zulkefli Salleh.

- Bernama