KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — All election commissioners must resign immediately as they have compromised the integrity of the electoral roll by allowing fraud to continue unabated, Bersih 2.0 said today.

The election watchdog cited the failure of the Election Commission to report deaths on the electoral rolls in Sabak Bernam, Sungai Besar, Hulu Selangor and Tanjong Karang in the last quarter of 2011 despite the issuance of death certificates, as proof that fraud still continues.

Bersih 2.0 also pointed out other problems identified by the Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project, such as double registration for 15,520 voters in Sabah and 8,585 in Sarawak, inconsistencies in gender, and addresses with more than 15 registered voters.

“It shows clearly that the Election Commission has failed in its constitutional duty to ensure a clean and fair election,” Datuk A. Samad Said told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall here today.

The Bersih 2.0 co-chairman added that the EC’s refusal to recognise the legitimacy of overseas voters showed its insincerity in carrying out electoral reforms.

“To allow the present election commissioners to continue in their office will only bring about a dirty, unfair and undemocratic general election,” he said.

“Bersih 2.0 calls upon the election commissioners to resign with immediate effect so that they can be replaced with others who will act to ensure a clean free and fair election in [the] future.”

Bersih plans to hold a “sit-in” rally for free and fair elections on April 28 at Dataran Merdeka over what it says are inadequate measures mooted in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for electoral reforms.

Thousands thronged to the capital here in support of the group’s previous rally for free and fair elections on July 9 last year despite a police lockdown of the city.

The peaceful rally turned chaotic after the authorities who deployed large teams of riot police armed with tear gas and water cannons to disperse protestors.

Eager to avoid the political fallout that accompanied last year’s crackdown, the Najib administration has given the green light to Bersih 3.0 but want its organisers to negotiate with the police on a suitable location.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said earlier this week that the “sit-in” rally for free and fair elections, scheduled for this April 28 at Dataran Merdeka here, is not considered a “security issue”.

“The government does not see plans for Bersih 3.0 as a security issue and we are allowing them to have it,” he said.

But he stressed that in accordance with the spirit of the just-passed Peaceful Assembly Act 2011, specific locations could not be used for such rallies.

Under the Act, gatherings may also be held anywhere outside a 50m radius of a prohibited place as long as police are given 10 days’ advance notice.

The list of prohibited places includes dams, reservoirs, water catchment areas, water treatment plants, electricity generating stations, petrol stations, hospitals, fire stations, airports, railways, land public transport terminals, ports, canals, docks, wharves, piers, bridges, marinas, places of worship and kindergartens and schools.

St Mary’s Cathedral is just under 50m north of Dataran Merdeka, across Jalan Raja.

By: Anisah Shukry - TMI

Hari Keluarga Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Selangor) 

Tarikh: 8 April 2012 

Masa: 4.30pm 

Tempat: Horse Ranch, Tanamera Bt. 20, Jalan Kuala Selangor, Sungai Buloh (Berdekatan Penjara, Dibelakang Petronas) 

Dirasmikan Oleh: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (5.30 pm) 

Menu

4.30pm - Teh Tarik & Currypuff 

6.00pm - Biryani Ayam 

Hari Keluarga Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Selangor) 

Tarikh: 8 April 2012 

Masa: 4.30pm 

Tempat: Horse Ranch, Tanamera Bt. 20, Jalan Kuala Selangor, Sungai Buloh (Berdekatan Penjara, Dibelakang Petronas) 

Dirasmikan Oleh: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (5.30 pm) 

Menu

4.30pm - Teh Tarik & Currypuff 

6.00pm - Biryani Ayam 

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah resumed his attack on the New Economic Policy (NEP) today, stating that “captive minds” continue to support it despite Malaysia moving further from its objective of redistributing wealth through pro-Bumiputera policies.

The Umno veteran said there has been “no intellectual inquiry” into why “despite many years of implementing the NEP, inequitable distribution of income continues to plague the people” as “we have become incapable of devising an analytical method independent of current stereotypes about Malays, Chinese, Indians and others.”

Ku Li today said, “…The NEP…has produced results that are diametrically opposed to the original intention of bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots.” — file pic

“If the doctor keeps on prescribing the same medicine which produces opposite results, then something must be wrong with the doctor, and something more serious must be wrong with the patient who keeps on trusting the same doctor.

“Our thinking is based completely on a racial world view when it comes to matters of politics, education, economics, planning, and so forth. Needless to say, we promote a racial world view that thrives on the policy of divide and rule,” the Kelantan prince said at a book launch in Ipoh this morning.

Tengku Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, had in February said “as a former finance minister, let me emphasise that it was never the intention of the NEP to create an incubated class of Malay capitalists.”

His statement further fuelled scrutiny of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s policies after the Najib administration decided to settle out of court the RM589 million debt owed by former Malaysia Airline System Bhd (MAS) chief Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli.

The settlement sum was undisclosed, prompting intense public criticism and attacks from the opposition over the right of taxpayers to know the amount of public funds recovered.

Tajudin, 65, had served as the airline’s executive chairman from 1994 to 2001 and was a poster boy of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin’s now-discredited policy of nurturing a class of Malay corporate captains on government largesse during the Mahathir administration.

Ku Li, one of the greatest critics of the NEP and Dr Mahathir’s handling of the policy, had challenged the long-serving prime minister for leadership of Umno in 1987, which he subsequently lost by a narrow margin.

He said in his speech today that the country’s education system does “not encourage the moral and intellectual reform of the mind” resulting in a lack of debate on major issues such as good governance, corruption and rule of law.

“To this very day, the electorate has not understood the implications of the NEP which has produced results that are diametrically opposed to the original intention of bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The longer we try the policy, the further we are from the original goal.

“The discrepancy between vision and reality has taken an alarming turn. It has gone far beyond economics into the realm of ethics and morality. In numerous instances it has taken the form of corruption and decadence which has pushed the economy further down the drain,” he said.

He said “wanton corruption and wasteful spending” had resulted in spiralling national debt that now amounts to RM456 billion or 53 per cent of the GDP, which “if we are not careful, it won’t take us long before we become another Greece.”

The truth is that Umno has never shied away from corruption or money politics in its bid to secure its hold over the country.

Fed up with Umno’s “penchant” for corruption, the party’s long-serving member and former cabinet minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir has walked out of the party. His departure from Umno sends home loud and clear the message that Umno and corruption are inseparable.

When Umno secretary-general, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor on March 18 suggested that Abdul Kadir throw in the towel if the latter was unhappy with the party following Abdul Kadir’s allegation that Umno was involved in vote-buying during the 2008 general election, he might or might not have expected the Umno veteran to do so.

But Abdul Kadir, 72, did just that when the next day he resigned from Umno, with immediate effect. When he last week quit his post as treasurer for Umno’s Kulim/Bandar Baharu division where he had served as an MP for three decades, it was perhaps an “appetiser” before the curtain came down on Abdul Kadir’s long-time association and fidelity with Umno.

While Umno’s loyal servants pretend to deny that the party never adopted money politics as its modus operandi in the last general election, the truth is as Abdul Kadir claims and which the rakyat can vouch for.

What good reason does Umno have for giving the former menteri besar of Negeri Sembilan, Isa Samad the chance to contest in the Bagan Pinang by-election in 2009 when Isa, convicted of money politics by the Umno disciplinary board in 2005, was stripped of his Umno vice-presidency and suspended to a mere three and not six years upon appeal?

And was Isa’s victory in Bagan Pinang any surprise?

A cabbie once revealed to me he and each member in the family eligible to cast their vote during the 12th GE were given RM100 each by BN i.e. Umno. While they pocketed the money, their votes however never reached the federal government Barisan Nasional which Umno is party of.

The truth also is that Umno has never shied away from corruption or money politics in its bid to secure its hold over the country. With its unexpected defeat in the 2008 GE, the worry is that Umno will leave no stone turned in trying to “buy” as many votes possible come the 13th general election, its aim being to outdo the opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat at any cost.

But then why focus on just the GE? Is vote-buying not the only ammunition Umno has when faced with an election, be it a by-election or general election? Who can forget the vote-buying spree that took place in Sarawak prior to the state’s April 16 election last year, masterminded by none other than its chief minister Taib Mahmud?

While some regard Abdul Kadir’s withdrawal from Umno as no big deal and some others see him as an asset and Umno’s loss, the moral of the story this former Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP is trying to convey is that Umno has all to lose should the party continue to indulge in corruption.

The only other minister who left Umno purportedly on the grounds of principality was former Kota Baharu MP and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Zaid Ibrahim.

Abdul Kadir walking his talk?

Known for both his colourful bow ties and his friendly demeanour, Abdul Kadir, who is deputy president of Amanah (an NGO seeking to revive the true spirit of independence) had earlier this year got on the wrong side of Umno when he accused the party of practicing money politics in the 12th GE.

Abdul Kadir was also quoted in media reports as saying that he himself used to receive “lump sums of money” during election campaigns to buy votes for Barisan Nasional in a strategy code-named “bomb”.

But Kadir shot down accusations that he too was involved in these alleged vote-buying activities and insisted that no votes had ever been bought during his tenure at Kulim-Bandar Baharu.

Umno in a typical fashion refuted the allegations yet again with Tengku Adnan warning Kadir to think before making statements that could discredit the party and suggested that Kadir resign if he was unhappy with Umno.

Meanwhile, Umno’s disciplinary board is in the midst of gathering information and proof on Kadir’s allegations for further action by the party’s supreme council.

In the Transparency International’s (TI) 2008 Bribe Payers Index (BPI) it was found that corrupt practices in the country had been on the rise. Political parties were singled out as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country with a BPI of 3.6.

The police force was indicated as the most corrupt institutions in the country with a BPI of 4. And the business communities also were not convinced of the government’s efforts to fight corruption, compared with some other Asia Pacific nations.

These are some of the figures noted by TI:

• Bribery to high ranking officials or to political parties: Malaysia – 42% of 92 respondents.
• Bribery to low level public officials to speed things up: Malaysia – 38% of 94 respondents.
• Use of personal and familiar relationships on public contracting: Malaysia – 44% of 93 respondents.

Umno and corruption inseparable

Had Malaysia’s elections been free and fair, the July 9, 2011 “Walk for Democracy” not been possible. This rally by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or Bersih 2.0 was all about pressuring the BN government to put an end to the corruption and nepotism that for so long has been plaguing the nation’s elections, both the by-elections and the general elections.

When BN and Umno president Najib Tun Razak who is also the current prime minister outlawed Bersih 2.0 and declared the rally illegal, that spoke volumes about the government’s willingness in wanting to clean-up the electoral system of this country.

Using money to buy votes has become a “culture” for BN. If not cash, handouts in other forms are distributed to voters to seduce them into supporting the party. Votes are secured not through the democrat wagon but by dishing out the ringgit Malaysia (RM) to the brow-beaten rakyat.

The corruption claim by Abdul Kadir while an “old news” needs immediate attention for otherwise the it will be a case of come a cropper for BN.

By the way, was it not George Chan, the former deputy chief minister of Sarawak and Sarawak United People’s Party president who upon losing his state seat of Pasau remarked that “national issues” were to be blamed for SUPP’s defeat.

“The rakyat wants a transparent government. I agree with them.The government must change the way they do things and change accordingly in the manner the rakyat wants. One thing is very clear; the BN cannot go on like this.”

Or for that matter why was a disabled farmer, Frusis Lebi’s government subsidies and welfare aid were revoked by the Sarawak government because he openly supported the opposition in last April 16’s state election.

This prompted Sarawak DAP secretary-general Chong Chien Jen to say: “There are many who have been politically persecuted for supporting and voting for the opposition when their subsidies, allowances and projects have been withdrawn from them. The problem is that many of these victims are not prepared to come out and expose these blatant acts.”

The above incidents are merely the tip of the iceberg; the cessation of money politics or graft as engaged in by the political parties of this country will only be possible if more fearless voices reveal the truth that corruption is very much alive and kicking in this country.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — The Election Commission (EC) expects to resolve all outstanding electoral reform issues during its final meeting with the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) tomorrow, and end months of public discontent shown against the country’s election process.

The panel, which was mooted shortly after Bersih 2.0’s protest turned chaotic on the city’s streets here last July, only has three more weeks to compile its findings before its six-month term expires this month-end.

“Tomorrow will be our final session with the PSC. It will be a very complete session because we must tie up all lose ends before the PSC tables its findings in Parliament,” EC deputy director Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar told The Malaysian Insider today.

He said the EC plans to update the PSC on all the panel’s recommendations thus far, key among which is the implementation of overseas voting for all Malaysians residing abroad.

Wan Ahmad (picture) would not reveal if the EC has formulated a method on how to carry out the proposal but said the PSC would be informed on what “we can and cannot do”.

“I am sure they (PSC) will raise this subject tomorrow. Let’s see what they have to say.

“And we will explain what we can and cannot do and the problems we face,” he said.

During the PSC’s meeting last week, EC representatives present were told to submit a mechanism on how to implement overseas voting before the panel prepares its final report for Parliament before April 2.

According to PSC member Anthony Loke, the EC’s failure to do so would be tantamount to showing disrespect to the House, which had last year approved the panel’s recommendation to allow all Malaysians abroad to vote.

At present, only full-time Malaysian students, civil servants and their spouses living abroad are allowed to vote during the elections.

“The EC has since not come back to us with the mechanism... What they have said is they need more time to study it and they just ‘KIV’ (keep in view).

“EC must come back to us and give us their proposal... either by using the existing postal voting system or by any other system,” said Loke.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the formation of the PSC following months of international condemnation against his government’s high-handed approach in cracking down on Bersih 2.0’s July 9 rally.

The election watchdog, which comprises over 62 non-governmental NGOs, had stages its second-such street rally since 2007 calling for electoral reforms.

Among others, the thousands who took to the streets that day, rallied for the present electoral roll to be cleaned, postal balloting to be reformed, indelible ink introduced, extended campaign period, free and fair access to media, and others.

But the government’s pre-rally clampdown, which saw thousands arrested, many for the possession of Bersih 2.0’s signature yellow colours, ignited international uproar and saw the Najib administration earn much criticism in the foreign media.

Clara Chooi - TMI

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — The rise of new media and text messages to relay results instantly and influence voting elsewhere has prompted the Election Commission (EC) to move to stop the early counting of ballots in the next general elections.

The EC spotted the trend during the Sarawak state election last April, saying today the latest move will affect mainly the smaller polling stations in Sabah and Sarawak which close early due to the low number of voters in both states.

EC deputy director Wan Ahmad explained that the decision was made after “several bad experiences” during the April polls in Sarawak last year. — file pic

EC deputy director Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar reminded that the early announcement of results was considered “illegal” as only the commission has the jurisdiction to endorse and announce the final outcome of polls.

He added that this would also influence voting patterns and disrupt the polling process if parties celebrate premature victories while voters are still casting their ballot papers elsewhere.

“Supposedly a candidate wins in one particular ballot box, and the counting agents transmit this information by SMS... then party leaders, without respecting the fact that the rest of the boxes are still voting, announce their victories.

“This is not accepted by law because the announcement of the final results can only be known after all the ballot boxes for the polls are counted,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

Wan Ahmad was explaining EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof’s announcement in Kota Kinabalu earlier today that early ballot counting would no longer be allowed in the coming general election.

According to The Star Online, Abdul Aziz had said that this was because the EC had noticed the agents of some candidates leaking early results via SMS or social network sites like Twitter.

Concurring, Wan Ahmad explained that the decision was made after “several bad experiences” during the April polls in Sarawak last year.

He said that several voting centres in the remote areas of the east Malaysian state had to be closed by 1pm and due to this, the EC had at the time allowed tallying to begin by 2pm.

“But one or two party leaders decided to speak to the media already... even announcing that they had won in certain streams and gave the majorities too.

“Their purpose was probably as a morale booster to the other candidates but this was a distraction to those who were still voting,” he said.

As such, he said, the EC would only allow tallying to commence after 5pm, when polling ends at all stations.

“We do not want this confusion repeated. We will return to our original practice, which is counting the ballots after polling closes,” he said.

Wan Ahmad added that the change only involves amendments to EC regulations.

Clara Chooi - TMI

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Laws to replace the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) are still being drafted despite the government promising to repeal the law that provides for detention without trial this month, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today.

But the home minister assured reporters the repeal will take place despite the two new laws “still being drafted by the Attorney-General.”

The home minister said the new laws will see key changes in terms of length of detention, treatment of detainees, contact with family members and an appeal process. — file pic

“I have not seen the final draft. It will be brought to Cabinet first before being tabled,” the Umno vice president said.

He said the new laws will see key changes in terms of length of detention, treatment of detainees, contact with family members and an appeal process.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah said today Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s promise of reforms such as the repeal of the ISA are “major steps” towards strengthening civil liberties and safeguarding the public’s fundamental rights and freedom.

The prime minister announced the repeal in a raft of reforms in his Malaysia Day address last September but later said it would only be done in this parliamentary sitting after two new replacement laws are drafted.

However, police have continued to use the ISA, which allows for detention without trial, most notably in a sweep of 13 suspected Islamic militants in Sabah last November.

Just days after Najib’s announcement, resistance began to surface, with political hardliners like Perkasa’s Datuk Ibrahim Ali calling on the prime minister to preserve the spirit of the ISA in the two new laws.

Opposition lawmakers and civil society groups such as the Bar Council have remained sceptical of the reform, expressing fears that the enactment of the two new laws means the ISA is merely being repackaged.

Hishammuddin also insisted in November the ISA substitutes will continue to provide for preventive detention as practised in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to fight terrorism.

But Najib said last month the replacement laws will demand a higher burden of proof before any arrests can be made as “we cannot be in the state of mind of just arresting anyone but must ask if the evidence can stand in the court of law.”

The prime minister kicked off his reform package in October after tabling the repeal of the Restricted Residence Act and the Banishment Act.

These reforms appear to be key concessions by Najib to win back middle Malaysia before polls expected this year.

His administration came under heavy fire for its clampdown on the July 9, 2011 Bersih rally for free and fair elections.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse tens of thousands of demonstrators in chaotic scenes which resulted in nearly 1,700 arrested, scores injured and the death of an ex-soldier.

Shanon Teoh - TMI 

Menurut Ong Tee Keat, undi Melayu memang sudah lama pecah sejak zaman kemerdekaan, begitu juga dengan undi kaum Cina dan India.

SHAH ALAM: Debat antara Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dengan Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak menjamin undi kaum Melayu akan kembali bersatu.

Ini kerana menurut bekas Presiden MCA Ong Tee Keat undi Melayu memang sudah lama pecah sejak zaman kemerdekaan, begitu juga dengan undi kaum Cina dan India.

“Sama ada perpecahan yang bermanfaat atau tidak itu terpulang kepada interpretasi masing-masing,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas menjadi panel wacana ‘Mengapa Undi Melayu Pecah’ anjuran Sinar Harian di sini hari ini.

Ahli Parlimen Kuala Selangor Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad berkata sebaliknya debat mampu memberi ruang lebih terbuka kepada rakyat untuk memilih berdasarkan kekuatan hujah yang dibentangkan Anwar dan Najib.

Katanya melalui debat rakyat akan mendapat maklumat yang lebih tepat sekaligus dapat membuat keputusan dengan rasional.

Sekaligus dapat memberi lebih ruang kepada kaum Melayu berfikiran wajar memilih parti yang mampu membela nasib Melayu pelbagai lapisan.

“Kalau tiada debat, media akan 24 jam hentam (pembangkang) dan rakyat tiada akses untuk tahu perkara sebenar,” katanya.

Walaubagaimanapun, Ong menegaskan debat itu nanti perlu mempunyai matlamat yang jelas dan bersifat realistik, bukan hanya debat mempromosikan manifesto masing-masing.

“Kalau sekadar debat tanpa wawasan seperti menyampaikan ceramah politik biasa itu tak kemana,” katanya.

Umno hilang sokongan

Sementara itu, pemimpin PKR Datuk Seri Chua Jui Meng menegaskan perpecahan undi itu hanyalah satu persepsi Umno yang semakin sorot undi kaum Melayu.

Beliau berkata sikap kerajaan yang selama ini merampas ekuiti RM52 bilion Bumiputera turut menjadi punca Umno hilang sokongan.

Ketua Penerangan Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa (Perkasa) Ruslan Kassim pula menyambut baik debat antara Najib dan Anwar.

Beliau menolak persepsi bahawa Perkasa menjadi kuda tunggangan parti pemerintah tetapi beliau percaya NGO itu kekal menjadi kuasa ketiga yang mempertahankan Perlembagaan.