The Election Commission has issued a stern warning to Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan not to disrupt the smooth running of the forthcoming 13th general election.
Her statements on overseas Malaysians voters, EC deputy chairperson Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said, have resulted in confusion and affected public confidence in the country's democratic process.
Attacking Ambiga's statement on postal votes from Malaysians staying overseas, carried by the Berita Harian, Wan Ahmad said the EC was actually giving those without the time or the funds to return home the opportunity to vote via post.
"Ambiga has made a confusing speculation and statement that does not assist, but further destroys the (belief in the EC)... the voting process can be done via postal votes or for them to return directly to cast votes.
"Her actions mean she did not understand EC's mechanism and procedures that were discussed at length with Wisma Putra and all the embassies.
"Her statement is based on perception and assumptions. It is directed at poisoning the people with things that are not true," Wan Ahmad said.
'Are they truly Malaysians?'
He was responding to Ambiga's statement urging Malaysians residing overseas registered voters to return home to vote and not use postal votes.
Ambiga said the conditions to be a postal voter were confusing as one set by the EC was that overseas voters must have returned home in the last five years and stayed in Malaysia for not less than 30 days.
Meanwhile, Utusan Malaysia reported Penang-based lawyer Ranjit Singh Dhillon also attacking Ambiga and declaring that the conditions imposed by EC are feasible.
"If they cannot sacrifice 30 days in five years to be in the country, are they truly Malaysians?" Ranjit asked.
The Umno-owned daily quoted him as saying that the condition imposed by the EC was to ensure their loyalty and patriotism as voters.
Ranjit added that it was disappointing that Ambiga, being a former Bar Council chairperson, could issue such a statement.
To appreciate just how venal and opportunistic Bersih co-founder Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has become, one needs to consider her latest outburst against electoral reform in the context of recent history.
ReplyDeleteAmbiga Sreenevasan berkata beliau akan meletak jawatan selepas PRU-13.
DeleteAmbiga was a long-time opponent of what she saw as the overuse of postal voting. The Parliamentary Select Committee, sitting in 2011 as a direct response to Bersih 2.0, responded to these concerns by vastly reducing the number of those who can use postal votes.
ReplyDeleteTujuan undian pos adalah untuk membolehkan mereka yang tinggal di luar negara ataupun diluar kawasan mengundi mereka untuk mengundi.
DeleteBut they dug their heels in on the issue of overseas voters. They didn't want people with no ties to this nation – maybe the children of expats who have never been here – having a say in our affairs just because of what is printed on their passport.
ReplyDeleteWarganegara Malaysia yang tinggal diluar negara bergantung pada undian pos untuk mengundi.
DeleteBukan semua rakyat mampu balik negara mereka semasa PRU-13.
DeleteEC patut menjadikan sistem undian pos lebih bersih dan adil.
DeleteSo the EC warned in 2012 that overseas voters would have to show that they have actually visited Malaysia before they can cast their votes. That requirement has now been confirmed as 30 days in the past five years. Thirty days! It isn't much to ask given that the reward is a stake in our democracy.
ReplyDeleteSo why now, on the eve of GE13, has Ambiga suddenly declared the overseas voting measures to be 'unconstitutional'? She has taken exception to the "30 days safeguard", saying "all those who are of age and are citizens have the right to vote. You cannot limit that right." She does admit, however, that similar pre-conditions exist in other nations.
ReplyDeleteThe real reason Ambiga has now chosen to make a song and dance about one small aspect of a landmark voting reform package has nothing to do with the Constitution and everything to do with besmirching the electoral process ahead of a likely BN election win.
ReplyDeleteAmbiga, who was in December telling whoever would listen about the impending "dirtiest election ever", is no longer clamouring for reform – most of that has already taken place despite her. She is busy telling the world about her "torment" and what a terrible place Malaysia is for democracy and for her Pakatan friends.
ReplyDeleteThis is despite the reality around her. Remember, 75 percent of voters believe GE13 will be free and fair. Even former Bersih supporters now know their cause has run its course, as was evidenced by the abysmal turnout at last October's Bersih 8T event when fewer than 500 people turned up.
ReplyDeleteEven her international friends know that she is irrelevant. Her quest to get Australia involved in monitoring our elections via her old pal Senator Nick Xenophon fizzled out last year. As The Choice said at the time, Ambiga is like a lonely woman dancing by herself long after the party has ended.
ReplyDeleteBut that isn't stopping her from constructing her devious narrative about an impending "dirty" election, and if that means highlighting a reform that will involve just a few thousand people voting from overseas, so be it.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, 1,600 applications for postal ballot paper forms (Form 1B) have so far been received and EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said not a single complaint has been made.
ReplyDeleteThe reason Ambiga is now sounding so desperate is that events have passed her by. The reform of the way we choose our government has been one of the most important structural changes in this nation since federation, but that process is complete and doesn't require any input from Bersih.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the EC will invite monitors from Asean countries to GE13 along with sixteen domestic NGOs. They will have free and unfettered access to polling stations and counting areas and will make independent judgements about what they see.
ReplyDeleteFaced with nations like Australia rebuffing her plan for uninvited monitors, Ambiga could only suggest an army 10,000 untrained domestic volunteers (also known as Pakatan Rakyat supporters), who will mill around polling stations trying to work out if what they are witnessing is a free and fair election. Most of them will be too ignorant or biased (or both) to effectively make that judgement.
ReplyDeleteBy seizing on overseas voting in February 2013, just week s from GE13, Ambiga is showing that she really has run out of ideas, but is still trying to nibble at the edges of the electoral process.
ReplyDeleteThat's as much as she can do. Our democracy and the coming election are bigger than any one person, and that includes Ambiga Sreenevasan.
ReplyDeleteGE is around the corner.
ReplyDeleteAmbiga should leave.
ReplyDeleteAmbiga oh ambiga.
ReplyDeleteADAKAH INI MENUNJUKKAN BAHAWA AMBIGA BONEKA?
ReplyDeleteThis is what happened when people start questioning.
ReplyDeleteGE oh GE.
ReplyDeleteThere is something happening there.
ReplyDeleteWhat is going on actually?
ReplyDeleteCare less.
ReplyDeleteApa boleh jadi ni?
ReplyDeleteAnwar should come out and explain.
ReplyDeleteKadangkala terlalu mengikut emosi pun susah juga.Menyebarkan sesuatu hal yang belum cukup bukti hanya akan mengundang masalah di kemudian hari. Apa salahnya, kita percaya kepada undi rakyat yang mengundi.
ReplyDeleteKerajaan telah melakukan banyak hal untu bantu rakyat dan juga tanggani isu pati sehinggalah tertubuhnya RCI. Jika usaha kerajaan itu kita tak hargai, maka semuanya sia-sia saja.
ReplyDeletejgn lakukan sesuatu yang boleh menggagalkan RCI
DeleteApa guna kita minta RCI ditubuhkan jika prosiding pun belum selesai tapi khabar angin yang tak baik pasal RCI pula makin berleluasa. Malah ada juga yang mula meragui status kewarganegaraan pengundi....
ReplyDeleteJika senario ini berterusan susah lah kita semua. Bukan keharmonian yang kita akan kecapi tapi akhirnya nanti perpecahan.huhu
ReplyDeleteSebagai rakyat saya juga mahukan yang terbaik dan satu perubahan yang mampu menjamin keharmonian negara. Sebab itu saya masih menyakini negara kita akan kekal aman di bawah pentadbiran BN.
ReplyDeleteNmaun semuanya terpulang pada pilihan individu masing-masing. Buatlah keputusan bukan saja untuk diri sendiri tetapi juga untuk masa depan generasi muda.
ReplyDeleteThe Election Commission (EC) today gave the assurance that the next general election would be the best and not the dirtiest as some people perceived it would be in view of the disclosures at the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah.
ReplyDeleteIts chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, said the people should not come to conclusions based on the testimony of one or two witnesses as more than 100 people were giving statements to the RCI.
Delete"What I want to stress here is that our electoral rolls are clean. The EC has been cleaning the list every day with the National Registration Department (NRD). NRD is the authority which decides whether a person is a citizen or not.
Delete"As such, our electoral rolls, with 13.3 million voters (including Sabah) as at December last year, are clean.
The 13th general election may be hot, maybe challenging, but not dirty," he told reporters after handing over letters appointing three non-governmental organisations (NGO) as observers in the next general election for Sabah and Labuan.
DeleteThe three NGOs are the Sabah-branch of the Malaysian Historical Society, the Sabah Youth Council and the Sabah Federation of Chinese Associations.
Abdul Aziz said the EC had introduced several changes to update and improve the election process, including the use of the indelible ink, early voting, media access for political parties, international observers and local observers.
Delete"Many other changes have been made, including allowing postal voting for Malaysians residing overseas," he said.
He said four EC officers would be called as witnesses in the RCI hearing.
DeleteAbdul Aziz also said that the EC would spend about RM52 million to manage the general election in Sabah, which has 969,497 registered voters.
DeleteHe said the EC was allocating RM400 million to manage the general election nationwide.
Earlier, in his speech, he said 16 NGOs had been appointed as local observers throughout the country, with five in the peninsula, eight in Sarawak and three in Sabah.
The Election Commission (EC) has appointed 16 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as independent observers to monitor the voting processes in the coming general election (GE), out of which three are in Sabah.
ReplyDeleteThe three NGOs are Malaysian Historical Society Sabah Branch, Sabah Youth Council, and Federation of Chinese Associations of Sabah.
Delete
DeleteEC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the NGOs would help boost public confidence in the country’s election system by ensuring a fair and transparent polling.
“The observers can go in to the voting centres they are designated to. They can also go in to monitor the nomination as well as the ballot counting processes.
DeletePengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof ada mengatakan senarai daftar pengundi adalah bersih dan beliau memberikan jaminan proses Pilihanraya Umum ke 13 (PRU ke 13) akan jadi yang terbaik.
ReplyDeleteSenarai daftar pengundi SPR sehingga Disember 2012 adalah sekitar sekitar 13.3 juta pengundi (termasuk di Sabah).
ReplyDeleteSPR membersihkan senarai daftar pengundi dengan bantuan Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) kerana JPN mempunyai bidang kuasa untuk menentukan sama ada seseorang itu adalah warganegara atau bukan warganegara
ReplyDeleteRM400 juta diperuntukkan bagi mengurus pilihan raya umum di seluruh Malaysia, di mana RM52 juta diperuntukkan bagi mengurus pilihan raya umum di Sabah yang mempunyai daftar pengundi seramai 969,497.
ReplyDeleteSelain itu, antara Langkah & Usaha Yang Dilakukan SPR untuk pastikan PRU bersih dan adil ialah undi awal, wujudnya akses media bagi parti-parti politik, wujudkan pemerhati antarabangsa dan pemerhati tempatan, penggunaan dakwat kekal kemudahan undi pos untuk semua rakyat Malaysia di luar negara.
ReplyDelete