Electoral fraud in Malaysia – BERSIH calls for reforms
New Mandala
The elections of March 8th 2008 represented an important step towards democratisation in Malaysia. BERSIH 2.0 (The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) is concerned that this process of democratisation in Malaysia will be reversed without genuine electoral reform.
BERSIH 2.0 lists seven urgent electoral reforms that should be addressed before the next general elections. The 16 by-elections since 2008 have seen a blatant misuse of state apparatus and other unfair tactics some of which violate the Elections Offences Act. Regrettably, the Election Commission (EC) has failed to act impartially and proactively to promote free, fair and clean elections.
BERSIH 2.0, therefore, urges the public to be ready to step up pressure for serious reform as they did in 2007 if the Federal Government and the EC continue to ignore reasonable and legitimate demands for real electoral reform. If EC continues without bringing reforms, the Sarawak State Elections will serve as a guide for mass support for democracy.
Power abuse, vote buying and other misconduct in By-Elections
If the 16 by-elections since 2008 are an indicator of what is to come, the coming Sarawak State elections and the next general elections will be seriously marred by blatant abuse of State power, vote-buying, transfer of voters, phantom voters, imbalanced media coverage and intimidation.
The most disturbing trend is the unashamed abuse of governing power by the Federal Government to pressure the voters to exchange votes for development something that the citizen is entitled to as of right.
The infamous line, “You help me, I help you” uttered by the Prime Minister first in the Sibu by-elections is now repeated by the Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister to entice the voters to vote for them in the coming State elections. The Election Commission has unfortunately refused to act, giving the impression to the public that they are helpless to check offences under the very legislation they should ensure compliance of. The EC could have lodged a police report against the politicians under Section 10 (Bribery) of the Election Offences Act 1954, which will serve as a moral sanction. They choose instead to leave it to the other agencies like the MACC and the police, which we know is a pointless exercise.
Equally worrying is the vote-buying through dinners and lucky draws by the suspicious 1Malaysia group in Galas, Tenang, Merlimau and Kerdau. The EC ought to have lodged police reports to have the group investigated under Section 8 (Treating), Election Offences Act 1954 since these dinners and lucky draws were only organised in by-elections and attended by politicians from the BN party.
More importantly and of great concern is that politicians show no respect or regard for the law of this country that they of all people, are duty-bound to uphold.
The partiality of EC is also demonstrated in the choice of the by-election dates. Six out of eight PR-held seats had their polling on a weekday, making it difficult for out-of-town voters to return to vote. In sharp contrast, six out of eight BN-held seats had their polling on a weekend and the remaining two (Batang Ai and Batu Sapi) were held simultaneously with one or more PR-held seats, on a weekday.
BERSIH 2.0 disputes EC’s claim that they are powerless.
Whenever faced with blatant abuse in the electoral process, the EC reacts by saying they are powerless to act. For reform of electoral laws, the EC also claim that they need to follow the decisions of the Cabinet which instructs the Attorney-General Chambers. This is an insult to the wide powers they are given under the Federal Constitution and the Election Offences Act and to the public interest that they hold in trust. At the very least, the EC must make reports on blatant election offences and propose to the public the necessary reforms they see fit regardless of the Cabinet’s preferences.
BERSIH 2.0’s Demands for Seven Major Reforms
To ensure the legitimacy of the new governments and political stability, we urge the EC and the BN Federal Government to initiate the following seven major reforms:
