"However, the task is tedious as it would also involve amendments to related laws and the Constitution," said State Election Commission (EC) Director Datuk Mohd Idrus Ismail.
Mohd Idrus, who suggested this to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah on Thursday, also agreed with the proposed automatic registration as voters all Malaysians who have reached 21 as well as to have the photo of voters displayed at the EC website.
But cooperation from the National Registration Department (NRD) would be needed if it wants to have the photo of voters displayed online, he said.
According to him, the EC has continuously been cleaning up the electoral rolls but this also would depend on the NRD.
He said there were over 13 million names in the electoral roll, while there were about three million citizens qualified to vote, but had not registered with the EC.
He said if the death of a voter from remote Sapulut region in Sabah's interior was not reported to the NRD, the EC could not unilaterally remove the deceased from the electoral roll.
On the testimonies of several witnesses who had obtained identity cards through fraudulent means and subsequently registered as voters and cast their ballots in a number of general elections, Mohd Idrus said the EC registered voters who produced an identity card and they took the voters' documents at face value.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteA re-registration exercise of voters could ensure a clean electoral roll, Sabah Election Commission (EC) Director Datuk Md Idrus Ismail told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah today.
Satu cara yang boleh dicuba juga untuk memastikan senarai yang lebih bersih.
DeleteMungkin proses ini mengambil masa tetapi cara ini adalah baik juga untuk memastikan senarai yang lebih bersih dan semua calon harus dinilai terlebih dahulu sebelum diluluskan.
DeleteRCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteConceding that it would be a tedious exercise, he said it was the best solution to address various matters such as deceased voters that were not declared with the National Registration Department and change in voters' address.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDelete"This will need a change in laws, amendments to the constitution. But this is the best we can do to ensure transparency in our work.
Pemberian ic dan pendaftaran pengundi harus terbuka.
DeleteProses kelulusan pemohonan mungkin kurang transparent. Semoga Jabatan yang bertanggung jawab dapat membaiki lagi kelemahan.
DeleteRCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDelete"This is not only best for Sabah, but also for the whole country. But it requires the commitment of the EC and the government," he told the inquiry.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteAccording to Md Idrus, there were over 13 million names in the electoral roll, while there were about three million citizens qualified to vote, but had not registered with the EC.
Golongan yang sudah layak mengundi harus juga mendaftar dan menjalankan tanggung jawab sebagai warganegara.
DeleteSuch group of qualify citizen should have register and be responsible as a Malaysian citizen.
DeleteRCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) Director Ismail Ahmad said to address the issue of stateless children in Sabah, it was proposed that a special pass known as the Resident Pass be issued to those children which could be renewed after a certain period of time, yet to be decided by the state government.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteHe also said the proposed pass could be extended to foreigners possessing other documents, such as IMM13 issued to Filipino refugees and temporary resident identity cards, to enable them to attend school and seek employment.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDelete"Most of these people have lived here for as long as they can remember and they have become a part of our society and they can be a part of our workforce, too," he explained.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteIsmail said although the proposal had been submitted to the state cabinet, it was yet to be implemented.
Setiap proposal harus dikaji secara mendalam sebelum dilaksanakan.
DeleteRCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the RCI panel was impressed with Philippine-born Rosalinda Ghani's diligence in obtaining her Malaysian citizenship the proper way.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteThe 51-year-old restaurant owner told the inquiry she came to Sabah without travel documents when she was 14 years old to escape the conflict in southern Philippines.
She applied for an IMM13 document from the Immigration Department in Semporna and after 10 years, she applied for an entry permit to allow her to apply for a temporary resident identity card (IC) and later, a permanent resident IC.
ReplyDeleteRCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteShe told the inquiry she heard people talk about becoming a Malaysian citizen and took the initiative to find out what the procedures were from the NRD in Semporna.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteRosalinda said last year, she was called to attend an interview at the NRD in Tawau and took an oath before a judge. She was later issued with a certificate of citizenship and was able to apply for a MyKad which was issued to her this year.
RCI: EC Director wants re-registration of voters
ReplyDeleteThe RCI panel, led by former chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, also comprises University Malaysia Sabah former vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kamaruzzaman Ampon, Kuala Lumpur former police chief Datuk Henry Chin Poy Wu, Sabah former state secretary Datuk KY Mustapha and Sabah former deputy chief minister Tan Sri Herman J Luping, who was also former state attorney-general.
Automatic voter registration mulled
ReplyDeleteKUALA LUMPUR: THE government is considering allowing automatic registration of voters once they turn 21 but will not make voting compulsory.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in replying to a question by Datuk Dr Abd Latiff Ahmad (BN-Mersing) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, said it would not be feasible to make voting compulsory.
“The idea of automatic registration can be considered although no decision has been made on it,” he told Dr Latiff.
ReplyDeleteA check with the Election Commission (EC) yesterday revealed that a team was already conducting a feasibility study.
EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said the commission felt that this was the answer to the “problem” of Malaysians failing to register as voters despite their eligibility.
ReplyDelete“The automatic registration system will be the answer to this problem but we have to carefully look at the pros and cons of the implementation,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
The commission had been “seriously looking into” the proposal “for some time now”, he said, adding that there were about three million eligible Malaysians who did not register to vote.
ReplyDelete"One of the options is to automatically register voters when they turn 21. We have a team analysing this approach. It is a good idea and we have to look at it in a more holistic manner," he said.
Satu cara yang baik juga agar golongan ini boleh terus melayakkan diri selepas mencapai umur 21. Tetapi, kebaikan dan keburukan harus dikaji terlebih dahulu.
DeleteEC had encouraged those who were eligible to register but a large number had persistently failed to do so.
ReplyDeleteEC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof had lamented prior to the 13th General Election that only 13.34 million of the 16 million eligible Malaysians had registered to vote as of last December.
Wan Ahmad said if the proposal was taken up, the data of Malaysians who turned 20 could be compiled in advance with the assistance of the National Registration Department before they were automatically registered as voters upon reaching 21.
ReplyDelete"There are many ways to do this and this is just one of the methods we can opt for."
Leaders from both sides of the political divide supported the proposal but called for a thorough study to be conducted to ensure its smooth implementation.
ReplyDeleteUmno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the proposal was timely.
"It will greatly help with the ongoing effort by all political parties to register young voters. Most political parties have embarked on campaigns to encourage them to not just register but to go out and vote on polling day. Automatic voter registration will certainly help in this endeavour."
ReplyDeleteMCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the emphasis should be on encouraging voters to exercise their democratic right once they were automatically registered.
"There are still some registered voters who do not go out to vote. We must find out why this is so."
ReplyDeleteDAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua said the proposal should have been implemented a long time ago.
"It must be expedited for the sake of improving the electoral process."
ReplyDeleteAutomatic registration of voters is practised in countries such as Chile and Italy.
In Denmark, Finland, Norway and Germany, the government would obtain information from their national database and send voter eligibility documents to citizens who have reached the legal age.
Kerajaan pertimbang untuk mengadakan pendaftaran pengundi secara automatik bagi rakyat Malaysia yang berumur 21 tahun ke atas, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
ReplyDeleteNajib menyatakan perkara itu ketika menjawab soalan ahli Parlimen Mersing Datuk Dr Latiff Ahmad.
ReplyDeletePerdana menteri turut mengatakan cadangan mewajibkan semua rakyat Malaysia yang layak mengundi untuk mengundi adalah tidak praktikal.
ReplyDeleteSelain itu Najib mengatakan kerajaan mungkin akan mengambil tindakan terhadap pihak-pihak tertentu yang menggunakan perkataan “rakyat” untuk menyuarakan bantahan mereka terhadap keputusan Pilihan Raya 2013. - 26 Jun, 2013.
ReplyDeleteWalau bagaimanapun, menurut Najib, kerajaan masih lagi belum membuat keputusan tentang itu.
ReplyDeletePendaftaran pengundian secara automatik sebaik seseorang mencecah usia 21 tahun tidak menepati maksud demokrasi berperwakilan, sekali gus menyebabkan pengundi gagal menilai prestasi wakil rakyat yang dipilih.
ReplyDeleteBeliau berkata, keadaan itu tidak elok untuk sistem pilihan raya negara yang bertujuan memilih wakil rakyat bagi membangunkan dan menjaga kepentingan pengundi.
ReplyDeleteTimbalan Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, berkata kelemahan itu antara yang dikesan dalam kajian awal terhadap beberapa syor penambahbaikan proses pilihan raya yang sedang berjalan sekarang.
ReplyDeleteTak dikemaskini
ReplyDeleteKatanya, ia berlaku apabila pangkalan data di Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) tidak dikemaskini dengan merekodkan alamat lama, bukan lokasi bermastautin terkini.
Rekod JPN harus kemas kini dari masa ke semasa untuk memastikan semua maklumat adalah benar dan jitu.
DeletePengundi yang tidak mengemaskini alamat di JPN tidak akan mendapat perkhidmatan daripada wakil rakyat yang dipilih, malah pengundi tidak dapat menilai prestasi mereka (wakil rakyat) untuk membolehkan dipilih semula pada pilihan raya umum akan datang, katanya kepada BH.
ReplyDeletePerlu kaji
ReplyDeleteSemalam, Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak ketika menjawab soalan tambahan di Parlimen dipetik sebagai berkata, kerajaan tidak bercadang mewajibkan rakyat mengundi, tetapi tidak menolak untuk mempertimbangkan cadangan melaksana pendaftaran pengundian secara automatik.
Wan Ahmad berkata, pelaksanaan pendaftaran automatik memerlukan kajian daripada pelbagai aspek termasuk mekanisme perundangan secara mendalam kerana memerlukan pindaan Perkara 119 Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang menyatakan pendaftaran pengundian tidak dilakukan secara automatik.
ReplyDeleteBagaimanapun, katanya, pelaksanaan pendaftaran automatik mempunyai kebaikan apabila tiada lagi isu berbangkit mengenai rakyat tidak berdaftar sebagai pemilih.
ReplyDeleteAdakah setipa permohonan dinilai secara teliti? Apakah syarat yang harus dipenuhi?
ReplyDelete