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Monday, August 8, 2011

The 'ayes' grow for Bersih 3.0 as arrogant EC, BN refuse to reform polls system

The 'ayes' grow for Bersih 3.0 as arrogant EC, BN refuse to reform polls system

The call for Bersih 3.0 is building momentum and will continue to do so for as long as the Election Commission stays stubborn and refuses to admit there is anything wrong with the existing voting system.

Unlike, Bersih or Bersih 2.0, Bersih 3.0 does not need publicity. As a movement, Bersih has taken on a life of its own and it is now very much a citizen awareness movement.

Malaysians have come to learn the meaning of the words, indelible ink, election fraud, biometric fingerprinting and phantom voters, thanks to Bersih chief Ambiga Sreenevasan and her team. We now know about 'instant-citizen' voters, phantom voters and ghostly apparitions who appear right on cue at every general election.

Yet in the face of all this, the Election Commission and the prime minister remain absolutely sure that elections in Malaysia are free and fair.

Bersih 3.0

Can Bersih 3.0 put an end to election fraud? Put it this way, it is the only form of pressure that Malaysians can apply on the BN government and the EC. So, this is one option that Malaysians must embrace and prepare themselves for. Or forever hold their peace when the country goes bankrupt or is turned into a police state.

Bersih 3.0 should be more than another massive march on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Instead, Bersih 3.0 should also be about concrete measures to address the existing election frauds that are so glaringly visible for all Malaysians to see, but which are invisible to the EC and Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Irrefutable evidence has to be gathered and compiled. For example, citizens should take it upon themselves to check with the Election Commission on the status of voters registered at their addresses. Any irregularity has to be reported immediately and catalogued with an impartial and independent body, not just with the EC or the police.

Citizens should be watch-dogs to the initiatives made by the EC to ratify the complaints made. The EC owes it to the people that their vote will be treated with the upmost care. EC must be constantly reminded that they are caretakers of the citizens' right to elect the government of their choice and not the EC’s choice.

The Immigration Department should also be watched by the citizens of Malaysia with regards to its handling of illegals, who have made their way to Malaysia. As citizens, we need to protect our rights. The Home Minister, as the minister in charge of the Immigration Department, has to discharge his duties and put his country-men ahead of any other national who chooses to come to Malaysia.

Treason

Selling citizenship for votes is akin to high treason and the Immigration Department and NRD should not be partakers of this abuse.

Voter registration should be a citizen’s initiative and not the prerogative of political parties. Bersih 2.0 has awokened many Malaysians, who have made a beeline to vote. This group should not be hindered, thus the EC should cut down on the lapse time it currently takes to certify an applicant worthy of voting.

At the moment, the EC takes three months to certify an application and even then there have been allegations that some registrations are not accepted even if the application is perfectly complete. This is due to the fact that only political parties are empowered to register voters. Opposition parties have long accused the EC of bias and that voters registered by them are either delayed or never approved.

Automatic voter registration is the way of the future, since it ensures that a Malaysian born of Malaysian parents will be automatically eligible to vote by the time he or she reaches 21. Rather than purchasing biometric machines, the EC should look at putting in place automatic voter registration. Citizens should petition the EC to implement automatic registration.

PACAs

Bersih 3.0 should also be about training Polling Agents and Counting Agents (PACA). It is about having the citizens be a part of the election process and not to allow it to be fully in the hands of the EC - who are definitely short-handed. PACAs are people commissioned by the contesting candidates to monitor the polling streams and the counting process at each and every polling station.

PACAs are powerful tools to ensure polling is fair as it provides a means for all parties involved to watch over the voting process. If there are ground for contention, PACAs can raise these points on the spot with the EC officer.

The recent ruling by EC that in future elections, PACAs cannot bring along their hand-phones into the polling station, seems to suggest the EC’s uneasiness that those PACAs who are vigilant and alert may report immediately to their respective candidates or to their superiors if they spot irregularities.

Too patient

Bersih 3.0 should be more than just a march on the street. But make no mistake, a march it has to be if all reasoning fails. At the same time, Bersih 3.0 must evolve into a mature citizen’s movement capable of initiating concrete changes. Politicians from both camps will continue to expose and rile up each other over their faults.

Citizens have been too patient. We know there are fraudulent practices in place and have had enough of the rhetoric and excuses from the BN as why it cannot to put in place better solutions, such as indelible ink.. What we want are clear and decisive actions that we, as citizens of Malaysia, can understand and accept.

In a broken government unable to take care of its citizens, it is the citizens that have to rise up, take care of themselves and vote in a new government.

- Malaysia Chronicle

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