WIKILEAKS: CLEAN FINGERS, DIRTY ELECTIONS?

Proponents of electoral reform had lobbied for the introduction of indelible ink and hailed the EC's original decision to institute this measure, which would have represented the most significant improvement in the integrity of the elections since the last polls in 2004. The EC's grounds for reversing itself on the use of indelible ink do not appear very convincing, and clearly suggest pressure from the ruling BN government. Regardless, the EC has damaged its credibility on the eve of the elections and invited greater suspicion of Malaysia's electoral process.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

Summary

1. (C) With only three days remaining before the March 8 general election, Malaysia's Election Commission (EC) abruptly announced its decision not to apply indelible ink to the fingers of voters, citing police reports of alleged sabotage plans and previously unidentified constitutional barriers. The opposition immediately cried foul and condemned the EC for abandoning this fraud prevention measure. All sides have braced for the impact of illegitimate "phantom voters," particularly in tightly-contested races.

The Islamist opposition party PAS stated it would stop buses ferrying suspect voters into the states of Kelantan and Terengganu, while the police warned against obstructing citizens from casting their votes. The leading UMNO party and its allies within the National Front coalition have stepped up attacks against opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, including for his ties to prominent Americans.

The Embassy has dispatched election observer teams to six key states. The EC's grounds for reversing itself on the use of indelible ink do not appear very convincing, and suggest pressure from the ruling BN government. Regardless, the EC has damaged its credibility on the eve of the election and invited greater suspicion of Malaysia's electoral process. End Summary.

EC nixes use of indelible ink

2. (SBU) With only three days remaining before the March 8 general election, Chairman of Malaysia's Election Commission Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman made an abrupt about-face on March 4 when he announced polling officials would not mark the fingers of voters with indelible ink after they cast their ballots. In a hastily announced press conference and flanked by both the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Musa Hassan, and the Attorney General, Abdul Gani Patail, Rashid stuttered through a prepared statement officially terminating the fraud prevention method that the EC had embraced only nine months ago.

Referencing four police reports filed between February 16 and 21 of an alleged plan to sabotage the election process in the states of Kedah, Perlis and Kelantan, Rashid explained that the police believed people had smuggled unidentified quantities of indelible ink into the country to trick villagers into believing that they must have their fingernails marked before they can go vote. "Their intention is to create confusion and suspicion as to the status of such voters," he said. "This may cause chaos at polling stations.... The EC views these issues seriously as the election process and public order and security cannot be compromised," Rashid read from his prepared statement.

3. (SBU) Beyond allegations of sabotage, Rashid further explained that Malaysia's laws would not allow for the denial of a person's constitutional right to vote merely because of indelible ink marked on their fingernail. Rashid explained that only a constitutional amendment could rectify this situation, and since Parliament was dissolved, the Constitution could not be amended before the election.

Notwithstanding the presence of both the IGP and the Attorney General, Rashid reiterated the independence of the EC's decision process and reassured the media that no political pressure had been exerted to compel the EC's action. From the campaign trail, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi echoed Rashid's denial and remarked that "this didn't have any connection with us (the National Front, BN), the decision was solely made by the EC and we want to hear the full explanation from them as well.... What is more important is that the rights of the people who had registered to vote must be upheld. That must be the guarantee from the EC to all citizens and voters on March 8," the Prime Minister said.

4. (C) Comment: EC Chairman Rashid reportedly confided to a longstanding Embassy contact on March 5 that the Attorney General had instructed Rashid to rescind the EC's decision to use the ink. End Comment.

Opposition parties cry foul

5. (SBU) Opposition politicians immediately attributed the EC's decision to BN's pressure. People's Justice Party (PKR) deputy president Dr. Syed Husin Ali lambasted the EC's decision: "At a moment when the eyes of the entire world are upon us, the commission has now conclusively and irrevocably shown that any overtures towards reform that it had made previously were in bad faith."

Democratic Action Party (DAP) Secretary General Lim Guan Eng also chided the decision: "DAP unreservedly condemns the EC's betrayal of public trust by deciding to abandon the use of indelible ink, which is the central premise of their commitment towards a free, fair and clean election." Likewise, the opposition-linked election watchdog Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) released a statement declaring that Bersih "rejects the EC's excuses for the cancellation of this move on legal and security grounds," and criticized the EC for not seeking any necessary parliamentary action long ago. "The decision by the EC shows very clearly that it has neither intention nor the commitment to carry out electoral reform," Bersih concluded.

Election monitor steps back

6. (SBU) The election monitoring NGO Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (MAFREL) reacted with criticism and disappointment at the EC's decision. Despite being the only NGO accredited by the EC, MAFREL's Chairman Malik Hussin expressed lack of faith in the election process and vowed not to send observers inside the nation's polling stations so as not to lend credibility to a flawed process. MAFREL had planned to deploy around 330 observers at polling stations nationwide to monitor the voting process on March 8. MAFREL Deputy Chairman Syed Noh Ibrahim told reporters they will continue with their monitoring operation, "just not within the polling stations as accredited by the EC."

Haunted by "phantom" voters

7. (SBU) The IGP Musa Hassan publicly warned all political parties against obstructing citizens from turning out to cast their votes on March 8. The warning was in response to statements made by Islamist opposition party PAS leaders that they would stop buses allegedly ferrying "phantom voters" from entering Kelantan and Terengganu. The term "phantom voters" ("undi hantu") in Malaysia has several interpretations. These could be legally registered voters in a particular district who are not resident of the district or not known to the local community; non-citizens issued with Malaysian identity cards for the purpose of voting; voters who have passed away but whose names still appear on the electoral roll with their identity cards abused by someone else to vote; and large numbers of voters inexplicably registered at a single address. In this context both the BN and the opposition parties, particularly PAS, have registered hundreds their supporters in tightly-contested districts especially in Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu.

8. (SBU) The Election Commission declared prior to the dissolution of Parliament February 13 that they had cleared the electoral roll of all phantom voters, a claim opposition leaders dispute. For instance, a DAP candidate in Selangor alleged that 26 unknown individuals have been registered as voters using her family home address in her district. MAFREL released a statement February 20 that claimed 500 voters were registered as voters using an abandoned army base in Penang where the BN candidate is Gerakan's acting President Koh Tsu Koon. Not to be outdone, Kelantan UMNO leaders claimed that the party has difficulty in identifying more than 118,000 voters in the PAS controlled state.

9. (SBU) Although both UMNO and PAS leaders have been guilty in the past of recruiting phantom voters, PAS leaders accuse the EC of allowing UMNO to pad the electoral roll with its supporters to help UMNO win Kelantan and maintain its hold in Terengganu. PAS President Hadi Awang's press secretary Roslan Shair told reporters March 4 that the party had ample proof that phantom voters will be ferried to the two states on polling day. He added that PAS "would stop at nothing to prevent the voters from entering Kelantan and Terengganu."

In response, IGP Musa Hassan stated that he had issued a directive to his men to act against those trying to stop voters from casting their votes. He added, "We have stationed 300 policemen at entry points to the state and will take stern action against those who try to stop people from casting their votes."

UMNO and BN step up assault on Anwar

10. (SBU) Leading opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, who has drawn large crowds to his political gatherings across the country during the campaign, has come under increasing attack from UMNO, other BN leaders and the government dominated mainstream media. At several gatherings in Kuala Lumpur, poloffs have observed multi-racial crowds responding enthusiastically to Anwar's attacks on the government.

Political observers told poloffs that Anwar has managed to galvanize the voters especially in the urban areas by articulating the voters concerns effectively and urging them to reject the UMNO-dominated BN coalition. In response to Anwar's criticisms, UMNO and BN leaders have stepped up their attacks on the former DPM by describing him as a "political chameleon" who cannot be trusted.

Anwar attacked for Washington connections

11. (SBU) Government owned newspapers have joined in the fray and have increased their negative reports on the former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar. The papers gave prominence to human rights activist and former Peoples Justice Party Deputy President (1999-2001) Chandra Muzaffar's comment on March 4 that it would be an "unmitigated disaster for Malaysia" should Anwar become the PM. Chandra also stated in another interview for an UMNO-owned newspaper that Anwar's close relationships with individuals and groups in Washington including former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz "had very serious implications on Malaysia's sovereignty and independence." The UMNO owned newspaper condemned Anwar on March 6 for "tarnishing the image" of the country by giving an interview in Singapore that criticized government policies and the conduct of elections. The paper cited Anwar's comments that he is a "close friend" of former Vice President Al Gore, whom the paper claimed supported "the 'reformasi' demonstration of 1998 that threatened the stability of the country."

Embassy observers in the field

12. (U) The Embassy dispatched six election observer teams to the field on March 6. The teams will monitor developments in six key states: Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, Kedah, Perak, and Sabah from March 6 thru March 9.

Comment

13. (C) Proponents of electoral reform had lobbied for the introduction of indelible ink and hailed the EC's original decision to institute this measure, which would have represented the most significant improvement in the integrity of the elections since the last polls in 2004. The EC's grounds for reversing itself on the use of indelible ink do not appear very convincing, and clearly suggest pressure from the ruling BN government. Regardless, the EC has damaged its credibility on the eve of the elections and invited greater suspicion of Malaysia's electoral process.

KEITH (March 2008)