Putrajaya misused three laws in GE13, says Forum Asia

The panelists at the Asian Solidarity and Human Rights forum held in Kuala Lumpur today.





Putrajaya had misused three laws, the Sedition Act 1948, Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, during the May 5 general election for selective prosecution and punishment, according to regional human rights group Forum Asia.

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia) said in its preliminary report that the laws were technical and hard to understand for the purpose of prosecution and punishment.

"We raised our concerns against these problematic laws which gives the power to the government to carry out selective prosecution and punishment, towards certain individuals.

"The government's promise to carry out reforms runs contrary to what they are doing," Forum Asia representative Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.


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PIX GALLERY: Kuala Besut by-election polling day

 Pas candidate, Endot @ Azlan Yusof shaking hands with a voter at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Nangka, Kuala Besut

BN candidate, Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman (center) pushing a voter on a wheel chair, during his visit at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Nangka, Kuala Besut.

 The environment of the Kuala Besut by-election at SK Bukit Puteri.

A Pas supporter wearing the Pas flag for the Kuala Besut by-election.

Some of the locals showing their support for Pas candidate.

The locals cast their votes for the Kuala Besut by-election at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Nangka.

Rafizi takes up Barisan MPs challenge to repeat allegations on indelible ink outside Dewan

Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli has taken up the dare by Barisan Nasional MPs to repeat his allegations outside Parliament against Election Commission (EC) chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof and his deputy in deals involving supply of the indelible ink.

"I am making the allegations outside Dewan as advised by Dewan Rakyat Speaker and due to the challenge of Barisan lawmakers," he told reporters at a press conference at Parliament lobby on Thursday.

Earlier, Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia rejected a motion Datuk Reezal Merican (BN-Kepala Batas) to refer Rafizi to the Rights and Privileges Committee under Rule 36(12) over his allegations made on Tuesday despite being denied by Abdul Aziz.

Reezal said that Raifizi failed to correct his allegations made in Dewan with intent and subsequently uploaded on YouTube with 80,000 views.

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Kuala Besut by-election: EC shows voters how to dip finger into indelible ink

The Election Commission on Thursday carried out a demonstration on how voters should dip their index finger into the indelible ink during the Kuala Besut by-election.

The demonstration showed that a voter should dip their left finger into the bottle of indelible ink and use the edge of the bottle to get rid of the excess liquid.

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No more ink deals with supplier, says Shahidan

The company which supplied indelible ink to the Election Commission (EC) for May’s general election will not be contracted to do so any more, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim told Parliament today.

Shahidan said when the company’s name became public knowledge it meant it was no longer viable to deal with the ink supplier.

However, he did not confirm that he was referring to the company that was named by Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli yesterday.

Rafizi had said the ink contract was given to Integrated Challenger Malaysia Sdn Bhd and that it was run by a Mohamed Salleh Mohd Ali. He claimed too that Mohamed Salleh is closely linked with the EC’s top officials and some government leaders.

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EC cleaning up electoral rolls, says it will issue regular reports

Stung by repeated criticisms over tainted electoral rolls, the Election Commission (EC) has formed an internal committee to clean up the voter lists with the first report to be released later this month.

EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar (pic) said the committee began work after the May 5 general elections and would ensure the rolls for the next elections would be reliable and free from controversy.

"It is the EC's main priority to review the electoral rolls which has been said to be problematic by certain quarters.

"EC officials from all states are working together to clean up the electoral rolls and the committee will issue a report this month and from time to time," Wan Ahmad told The Malaysian Insider in Kuala Lumpur.

Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 and other civil groups have been asking for the rolls to be cleaned up since Election 2008, after allegations surfaced of phantom voters and foreigners in the lists based on identity cards issued by the National Registration Department.

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Tengku Zaihan pledges to do his best

The Barisan Nasional candidate for the Kuala Besut by-election Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd Rahman, 37, pledged to do his best to fulfill the responsibilities as an assemblyman if he win the seat on July 24.

The former Besut Drainage and Irrigation Department district engineer said he understand that he has been trusted with the huge responsibility of carrying the legacy of the BN leadership in Kuala Besut.

"I will continue the service that BN had provided and follow the development plans of the late Dr A Rahman Mokhtar," he said.

He said the fact that he was born in a fishermen family in Kampung Nail here will give him an advantage in wooing the voters.

"Furthermore, I had worked here as the DID district engineer for five years," he said.


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It’s a dip now for Kuala Besut voters - Indelible Ink Scandal

The Election Commission (EC) is to make sure that the stain of the indelible ink used to mark voters remains longer on the finger of voters in the Kuala Besut state by-election.

It announced today that voters will have to dip their left index finger into the ink instead of having it brushed onto the finger as in the last general election.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said in a statement that the indelible ink would be used for advance voting on July 20 and polling on July 24.

Friday is the nomination day for the by-election, which has been necessitated by the death of assemblyman Dr A. Rahman Mokhtar of the BN of lung cancer on June 26.

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Election officer arms PKR’s Rafizi with another dart for EC

PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli said the call by a senior election officer in Sabah to re-register voters was further proof that the electoral system was flawed.

"I want to hear what the Election Commission chairman and his deputy have to say to this," he said.

Rafizi was commenting on the on-going Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah where the state's election director Datuk Md Idrus Ismail, when giving evidence, said the 13 million voters nationwide must be registered again as the electoral roll was tainted.

Rafizi, who is also Pandan MP, said this clearly showed that the organisation and execution of the 13th general election was highly questionable.

"There are many questions being raised on the ballot paper, the ballot boxes and the indelible ink.


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'Indelible ink to be used during Kuala Besut by-election'

Indelible ink will be used during the Kuala Besut by-election although several weaknesses were identified regarding its usage in the 13th general election, said Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

He said the use of indelible ink has become part of the country's election regulations and should be continued or else it could nullify an election or make it invalid.

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Mameng filed his IC forms in the jungle, Ahmad collected his IC at a coffeeshop

Malaysian identity cards were issued to foreign migrants who worked at a logging camp in Kinabatangan, while some others collected theirs at a coffee shop in Kota Kinabalu, the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah heard today.

Mameng Saleng, 63, who was born in Sulawesi, Indonesia, told the five-man RCI panel he had received his identity card while working with a logging company. His supervisor had offered the workers citizenship.

"In 1983, the manager asked me whether I wanted a Malaysian IC and I agreed at once," Mameng told the RCI panel led by former Sabah and Sarawak Chief Judge Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong.

Mameng, who entered Sabah in 1981, admitted that all the documents related to the identity card were filled at the logging camp, although he still needed to go to the National Registration Department.

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EC in the line of fire again – for bonuses

Opposition members of parliament have questioned the rationale behind the RM200 million paid out in bonuses and allowances to Election Commission (EC) officials and workers who were on duty in May’s general election.

Leading the charge was Gombak MP Azmin Ali who said the EC did not deserve any bonus because they had failed to conduct free and fair elections.

"They failed in their duties. How can they be rewarded for that? They are spineless," said Azmin.

"It is disheartening for taxpayers to learn how their money is being spent."

However, Azmin agreed that the civil servants who had served in the GE had worked hard and lauded the Government for recognising their efforts.

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Kit Siang suggests single-function EC in revamp proposal

Citing the just-concluded May 5 polls, Lim said it was high time that the EC’s functions are revamped to ensure the entire polling process is clean and fair, and is subjected to sufficient checks and balances

Lim Kit Siang today suggested a total revamp of the Election Commission (EC) that will see the regulator’s duties reduced to a single function - to ensure free and fair elections at federal and state levels.

He said voter registration and the revising of electoral rolls, and the delimitation of constituencies should be duties handled separately by other, equally independent bodies.

“In other democratic countries, these... functions are carried out by separate bodies and this is something we can emulate if it will lead to a cleaner, more just and fairer electoral system,” he said.

“I have always contended in Parliament in the past four decades that the EC has a constitutional duty to conduct a clean, free and fair elections and not just to mechanically conduct an election process,” he added.

Under the Federal Constitution, the EC is currently tasked to carry out the elections, register voters and revise electoral rolls, and delimit constituencies.

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SUARAM seeks UK’s help to stop Pakatan crackdown

Among others, SUARAM said Cameron should urge Najib to proceed with his earlier resolve to abolish the Sedition Act 1948.

Local rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) sought intervention today from the United Kingdom with a letter urging Prime Minister David Cameron to help stop Malaysia’s crackdown on the opposition.

The letter, sent today to Cameron’s address at 10 Downing Street, asked the British PM to appeal to his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Barisan Nasional-led (BN) government to stop the ongoing security dragnet that against Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders and their supporters.

SUARAM insisted to Cameron that those hauled in so far to face police action had not violated any criminal law in their attendance or organisation of mass rallies to protest electoral fraud.

“We call on the UK Government to show moral and political leadership to address Malaysia’s recent crackdown on Malaysian human rights activists and opposition politicians,” the group said.

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Malaysian elections credible, says Australia

Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr has described the recent Malaysian General Elections (GE13) as 'credible'.

In reply to Greg Sheridan, foreign editor of The Australian newspaper on Sky TV on Sunday, on the credibility of the Malaysian Government, Carr said:

"Well, they certainly are a credible government. I rang my friend, Foreign Minister (Datuk Seri) Anifah (Aman) on Friday to congratulate him and to say (that) I looked forward to working with him in Brunei at the East Asia Summit and in other forums."

He reiterated the Australian Government's intention not to be involved in Malaysia's domestic politics.

Bipartisan panel to oversee EC

This will improve electoral system and boost confidence in the agency, says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: AN independent bipartisan parliamentary committee will be set up to oversee the Election Commission as part of the government's move to improve the electoral system and strengthen public confidence in the commission.

The move is also aimed at strengthening the EC's authority and credibility.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the parliamentary committee would comprise Barisan Nasional and opposition members and would function independently.

He said although the 13th General Election had concluded smoothly, there were parties who still disputed the results of the election. "As prime minister, I have a duty to govern on behalf of all Malaysians, whether they voted for the ruling coalition or not.

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Special committee from members of parliament from the Barisan Nasional and the opposition to oversee the commission to improve EC

Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government will extend its full cooperation to the Election Commission (EC) to further improve the credibility of general elections in the country although the 13th General Election went smoothly without any problems.

The prime minister urged certain quarters, fuelled by self-interest, not to damage the trustworthiness of the EC by making unfounded allegations against the commission. He said the commission is not a government agency or department but a machinery set up based on provisions under the Federal Constitution.

Najib said this in his congratulatory speech to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah on his birthday and investiture ceremony involving the presentation of awards and medals at Istana Negara today. The Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah also attended the event.


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EC seeks polls law review

PETALING JAYA: The Election Commission (EC) will soon begin a review of election laws and voter registration procedures to deal with complaints such as unusually large number of voters registered at the same address.

Among the matters being considered by the commission was to seek the power to “remove” voters who do not live at the address and update the registration in accordance with the address listed in their MyKad.

“We will examine in detail all aspects related to the present laws governing voter registration to look at all the loopholes which can give room for fraud by any political party when they register voters,” EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar (pic) said yesterday.


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Khairy says ‘not one shred of evidence’ to suggest polls fraud

Khairy Jamaluddin has defended the manner in which Elections 2013 was conducted, arguing in a letter to international current affairs magazine The Economist that there was not “one shred of evidence” of fraud in the polls.

The newly-appointed sports minister also took a swipe at Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, by accusing the opposition leader of not accepting the results because “of his own personal, lifelong ambition to become prime minister.”

“Allegations that foreign nationals were paid as ‘phantom voters’ have proved to be false, with not even one recorded case on polling day. All votes were cast and counted in front of representatives from all the contesting parties who signed off on the results.

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Pakatan MPs to use parliamentary strength to block unfair redelineation

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) federal lawmakers have vowed to make full use of their increased parliamentary numbers to ensure constituencies are fairly redrawn when the Election Commission (EC) kicks off the redelineation exercise this year-end.

PKR’s Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli reminded that if the exercise involves an increase in seat numbers, a two-thirds majority vote is needed to approve the changes before they are passed by the lower House.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) does not have required two-thirds majority in Parliament, with only 133 seats to PR’s 89 seats, and will require votes from opposition lawmakers to approve the exercise.

“But if they (EC) do not add constituencies and the process only includes redrawing boundaries, this could be dangerous as this allows gerrymandering and there is no need for a two-third vote.

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