Tindak Malaysia invites EC to forum with Bersih

Forum: “How Clean will the 13th General Elections be?”

On 19th Apr 2012, Tindak Malaysia invited the Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, to an open forum entitled How Clean will the 13th General Elections be? to be held at the PJ Civic Centre Auditorium, at 8.30pm Tuesday April 24, 2012. So far, we have not met with a response from the Election Commission. Possibly, the Chairman was too busy rushing the Election Offences Act through Parliament, during its last day of sitting on 19th Apr 2012.

One of the topics to be presented during the forum is:
Problems with the Electoral Roll, by Dr. Ong Kian Ming

It is therefore with deep interest that we read in Malaysiakini on 21st Apr, 2012 the following:
“Despite numerous complaints over the electoral roll, Election Commission chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof declared that Malaysia has the cleanest electoral roll in the world.

In an interview with Sin Chew Daily published yesterday, Abdul Aziz repeatedly stressed that the existing electoral roll is clean and no country in the world has a cleaner one than ours.”

Tindak Malaysia’s founder, Wong Piang Yow, urged the EC Chairman to attend the forum to substantiate his claim to ackknowledged specialists in the field of electoral rolls. “The EC Chairman should not miss such an opportunity to prove the cleanliness of the electoral roll”, stressed Wong. Otherwise, the public may be left with the impression that the EC Chairman’s claims are without substance.

The EC Chairman can also take this opportunity to explain the rationale behind the changes to the Election Offences Act which was just passed by Parliament and why the position of Barung Observer was cancelled.

The invited guests are from the Election Commission, BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee, academician and political analyst, Dr Ong Kian Ming, and the Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

The moderator will be Syahredzan Johan, the Chairperson of the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee.

“We would really look forward to the participation of the Election Commission Chairman to have a meaningful exchange,” Wong wrote in a letter addressed to the Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof. It was hand-delivered to the EC’s office on Fri 20th Apr 2012.

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Tindak Malaysia is a civil society movement to promote Free and Fair Elections through voter education. Recently, together with the BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee, it submitted Memo 2 containing a list of proposed amendments to the electoral laws and regulations to the Parliamentary Select Committee. Malaysians can obtain free training by registering at https://sites.google.com/site/pacabatraining/

For more information about this press statement, contact Wong Piang Yow 012-2149322.


Forum: “How Clean will the 13th General Elections be?”

Venue: PJ Civic Centre, MBPJ
Date: Tues 24th Apr 2012,
Time: 8:30pm - 10:30pm

Invited Presenters:
Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, Chairman Election Commission,
BERSIH 2.0 Steerirng Committee: Dr. Wong Chin Huat, (confirmed)
Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Academcian (confirmed)
Moderator: Syahredzan Johan

Programme:
8:00pm: Registration
8:30pm: Welcome by PY Wong, Tindak Malaysia
8:33pm - 8:50pm: Overview on Electoral System, by PY Wong
8:50pm: Introduction by  Syahredzan, Moderator
9:00pm: Problems with the Electoral Roll, by Dr. Ong Kian Ming,
9:20pm: Unconstitutional Redelineation by the EC, by Dr. Wong Chin Huat,
9:40pm: Tan Sri Dato' Seri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof - ( To be Confirmed)
Standby topic: Impact of amendments to the Election Offences Act, DR.042012, of 19th Apr 2012, by PY Wong
10:00pm: Roundtable discussion, Q&A from the floor
10:25pm: Round-up by Moderator.
10:30pm: Good Night