Boycotting polls not the answer, says Fuziah Salleh
By Queville To, FMT
PENAMPANG: Boycotting the general election as a means of expressing their dissatisfaction against the Barisan Nasional government is not the answer, said Kuantan parliamentarian Fuziah Salleh.
“A boycott is out of the question…We believe in the power of the people, the voice of the rakyat.
“So we would like to say to the government of day to think about the rakyat and do not underestimate or belittle the rakyat as they know better.
“They want to see a fair election,” said Fuziah, who was here recently.
She did not rule out the possibility of Bersih 3.0 (rally) taking place, if the government and the Election Commission (EC) failed to meet the peoples’ demand for genuine electoral reform, before the 13th General Election.
She was responding to speculations that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would likely dissolve parliament on Nov 11 and call for the 13th general election in December before electoral reforms are implemented.
She said among the far-reaching reforms that were proposed was the the use of indelible ink to prevent the casting of votes by phantom voters.
“By the time (if EC fails to carry out electoral reform) things will no longer be in our hands but in the peoples’ hands.
“The rakyat have shown what they are capable of (Bersih 1.0 and 2.0) so we don’t know what will happen.
“They want to see a fair election. It is not just Pakatan (Rakyat) but the people asking for it,” said Fuziah who is also a PKR vice-president recently.
Rakyat Reform Agenda
PKR is not the first group to warn of further demonstrations to press for electoral reform in the country.
Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) president, Haris Ibrahim, during a road show to introduce the group’s “Rakyat Reform Agenda” (RARA) here in late September also warned of an imminent Bersih 3.0 if the government falters on the issue.
