Reform the electoral system before the next GE

'Any such reform must be executed before the next GE for it to have any meaning at all. The next GE, if held before any reform, would be meaningless.'

PM proposes bipartisan panel for polls reform

David Dass: PM Najib Razak spoke of his father's determination to restore democratic rule after 1969 and his commitment to parliamentary democracy.

He also said that his administration would not form the government unless it is truly elected by the people. This is a big step forward in what was clearly an impasse with the Elections Commission.

Anonymous_3f55: Firstly, does this mean the earlier stance by the government that our elections are free and fair is a myth?

Second, does that mean what Bersih has been championing all this while has merits, third, does that mean the EC's earlier response was flawed, fourth, does this mean the PM's cousin (Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein) move to declare Bersih 2.0 illegal is wrong (if that's the case, please sack him).

Lastly, I only have one request, make S Ambiga the chairperson of EC. I'm sure you will get bipartisan support and the rakyat will rejoice. But, you must promise to call GE13 only after the clean up. Mr PM, you help me, I help you.

Multi Racial: Both opposition and government should have equal representation in the proposed select parliamentary committee. Senior representatives from Bersih and EC should be involved too. The Bar Council, Transparency International-Malaysia and Human Rights Commission should also be involved as observers.

It is obvious Bersih 2.0 was right all along. Do recognise them now.

Bluemountains: We will only trust the PM if he appoints a panel with opposition members forming the majority. Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and money. Let's wait and see how sincere he is.

LKS (Lim Kit Siang) is perfectly right to insist that the panel be chaired by a member of the opposition. Without which, it will just be another whitewash.

Kgen: First of all, there must be equal representation on the bipartisan panel, not 7 BN and 3 Pakatan Rakyat members or something like that. Next the panel must have the power to compel EC to implement its proposals, not just an advisory panel.

If the panel is set up just to whitewash EC, Pakatan members should immediately quit and not be a party to this whitewashing.

AB Sulaiman: On the face of it, this is a good development and it perhaps shows that Najib has seen the light at long last.

But any such reform must be executed before the next general election for it to have any meaning at all. The next GE, if held before any reform, would be meaningless and a sheer exercise in futility.

Najib, show us your sincerity, do organise the reform and do implement the committee's recommendations before calling for the next GE.

Bersih 2.0 mulls legal action against EC

Kgen: The clone voters are not human errors but organised deception to defraud Malaysian voters.

These cloned voters are based on cloned MyKads with slightly different numbers, one of which is valid and one invalid when checked with National Registration Department's online system.

How can an invalid IC be put on the rolls if the Election Commission claims that it has 33 verification steps? This shows a collusion between EC and NRD to create extra voters for BN.

Bersih chief S Ambiga's concerns are valid. If the EC can so easily remove clone voters discovered by the public, they can just as easily put them back on the eve of the election.

Furthermore, the EC has been claiming for years that it has no power to remove dead voters without being presented with the death certificate. Where did it suddenly find the power to remove 12,000 voters above 90 years old from the rolls?

This indicates that the answers given by EC to the public are at their whims and fancies.

Makorang: Why should the EC opt for 'remove and reinstate' for the older voters? They should come up with the list.

If humanpower is the problem, let the rakyat handle it free of charge. The 12,000 for the whole of Malaysia are not that many. It comes to just a few in each constituency. We can locate the voters, inform the EC officers and they can take it from there.

Ferdtan: Going to court may not be the correct way for Bersih. No doubt they have to keep up with the momentum built after July 9 rally.

In spite of the daily online exposure of major discrepancies in the electoral roll, EC chose to either remain mum, or to come up with the most ridiculous excuses such as clerical errors.

EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Yusuf, in keeping to his characteristic of 'talking stupid', comes up with a no-brainer proposal to solve the issue of double identity in the electoral roll - that is, to 'kill off' all 12,000 voters who are above 90 years of age.

We just don't understand what has over 90 years old voters got to do with the disputed double identity found in the roll: maybe Abdul Aziz knows something that we don't?

If Bersih were to take court action, the EC may get court injunction to stop everyone, including the online news portals, from discussing the issue, saying it may be contempt of court.

Bersih wouldn't want that to happen. Bersih's only weapon is information.

Anonymous: If the clone voters are clerical errors, why is it the clones are registered voters of different constituencies?

Anonymous_3da6: The integrity of the database at EC and NRD is now under suspicion. As rakyat, there is no way we should accept the database unless EC and NRD can show that they have done a computer audit on them.

We think BN will never allow an independent party to do an audit of the database. It is like asking BN to commit suicide. My question is, how to force EC and NRD to accept an audit on their computer systems as well as their databases?

FellowMalaysian: It's been a month now since Bersih's historic event of 709 and since then, many sources have discovered several cases of irregularities which are, to say the least, too severe and blatant to ignore.

Duplicate registrations and unauthorised amendments done to voters' records are heinous crimes and will affect the veracity of any election results.

The Sibu electoral roll has also been reported to have an unusual hike in the number of both ordinary as well as postal voters. To blame 'clerical foibles' or say the 'system will self-correct itself' is tantamount to the EC being ignorant and foolish.

Tuah PJ: Ambiga, I have been saying it from Day 1. Sue the pants off the EC or start Bersih 3.0. - Malaysiakini