The PSC so far shows MCA and Umno the worst obstacles to clean polls

The Parliament Select Committee, tasked to look into the election process in Malaysia, has begun public hearings and the Bersih 2.0 coalition has presented its case. An earlier attempt at keeping Bersih out of the hearing fell flat, with the coalition pushing forward to present its case. What has the PSC have to fear from Bersih? This is a question left unanswered, yet it was the case.

The flimsy argument that any written recommendations put forward to the PSC should not have the Bersih logo and that presentations can only be made by individuals and not as a coalition speaks of malice by the organisers. When others are allowed to present their case with seeming ease, why was another set of rules leveled at Bersih?

Nonetheless, in spite of all the obstacles put forward by Prime Minister Najib Razak's administration and Umno party, Bersih 2.0 and the rakyat (populace) are the clear winners in the battle to clean up the fraud so evident within the Malaysian election process.

MCA and UMNO the worst

So far, various nay-sayers have all fallen to the wayside with their rather odd excuses to maintain the status quo in the existing system. MCA for one seems to have disconnected from the people right from the very beginning. Its stand that overseas Malaysians should not be given voting rights when abroad is illogical and unconstitutional.

To claim that overseas Malaysians are not in touch with local happenings insults the intelligence of oversea Malaysians and even those at home. Overseas Malaysian probably have the better grasp of what is happening within the Malaysian political landscape due to the availability of independent news outlets.

Indeed, the assertion by MCA that overseas Malaysians should not be given the chance to vote, speaks ill of the party and clearly shows its sickly need to bow down to its master - UMNO.

Truly, this statement by MCA will not go down well with any Malaysian citizen as it is clearly stated in the federal constitution that all citizens should be accorded the right to vote and it is the government’s role to afford that right regardless of what the obstacles may be.

Automatic voter registration and a biased EC

This sickening need to protect one’s own political survival and not to sideline the people is further reflected in the EC’s excuse for not implementing automatic voter registration - another key Bersih 2.0 demand. The claim that automatic registration denies the citizen the “right to register” is further puzzling.

In any democracy it is the right of the citizen to vote and in fact countries like Timor-Leste makes it compulsory to register for voting. Thus, in this matter, the state ensures that the citizens' democratic mandate to vote is guaranteed by making sure that he or she already has the right to vote by automatically placing them on the electoral toll.

To claim that citizens can decide whether or not to register is a failure of the democratic system. And since when was the EC so interested in the rights of voters when Malaysia as a whole is still grappling with the fundamental liberty of the “right to freedom of expression"?

Indeed, the EC's argument that citizens are denied the “right to register” falls flat too, considering the number of questionable voters within the current electoral sheet. Were some of these “voters” automatically registered without their knowledge? What about the 40,000 questionable names being scrutinized? Were these names given the choice whether they were to be registered or not? We can be sure that many a dead person would question why they were not consulted when their names made the electoral sheets!

A new system is inevitable

It is then clear that Bersih 2.0 and the rakyat that stood behind the rally have accomplished what Barisan Nasional and the Election Commission have been trying hard to hide and bury in the past 50 years of rule - create awareness and bring to a public platform the dire need for reform in the election process. Indeed, the EC which many consider to be the unofficial component party within the BN coalition should come out and prove its independence from the politics of the day.

For too long has the EC been a slave to its political masters and covertly working to ensure the continual survival of the BN. The rakyat has wised up and what-ever shenanigans used by the EC to maintain the status quo will be severely questioned by Malaysians. For this, the EC cannot hide behind its pompous stance that it is the law when it comes to any matters concerning elections in Malaysia.

Instead, the EC must stand and protect the rights of the rakyat and listen intently to what the rakyat has to say. If not, be sure that coalitions like Bersih 2.0 would continue to have the rakyat stand behind it and to push for further change to the system.

It is not merely a change of government that is needed to save Malaysia, but also a change in the system. A change that clearly reflects what the people want and not a few political elites. But to change that system, Malaysians first need to change the existing federal government.

Malaysia Chronicle