Are clean elections an impossible reality?

Since Bersih 3.0 on April 28, the EC has still not done anything to clean up the voter rolls.

COMMENT

The latest news report by FMT that more than 5,000 voter names in Klang have gone missing or transferred out really shows that there is absolutely no efforts being made by the Election Commission (EC) to clean up the voter rolls.

This means only one thing: EC itself has to be cleaned up. This brings us to the question: why is the Barisan Nasional federal government so dead set against free and fair elections?

We as citizens are entitled to question them on this issue. What is so wrong with clean elections?

And why is Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak silent on this matter? So far, he has gone on to talk about economic growth, jobs for the people and so on and so forth but still nothing on clean elections.

We must think and ask why.

One DAP MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity, thinks that the prime minister is still thinking of calling for the polls in July but is afraid that he will not be able to win big.

This DAP MP opined that Najib is afraid of being ousted at the Umno party polls if he fails to secure the two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Whatever it is, the voter rolls must be cleaned up first before the polls. And we can clearly see that the BN federal government is not the least bit interested in clean elections.

Its feet-dragging and pussyfooting clearly shows that it is not genuinely keen to act.

And thus we as citizens have the right to again make our voices heard. It is futile for us to keep on demanding for the voter rolls to be cleaned up as our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Therefore, now is the time for us to ask EC officials to step down because they have failed to discharge their duties honourably.

The fact that PKR’s Machang MP Saifuddin Nasution has exposed them as BN stooges with Umno membership is enough reason for them to step down with immediate effect!

How can they claim to be neutral when they belong to a political party?

Why 5.0 and not 4.0?

Thus, civil society must act without further delay. So should there be Bersih 5.0? The answer is up to the people.

Why 5.0 and not 4.0?

Simply beause BN lackeys have hijacked 4.0 and appropriated it as theirs. Therefore it is only natural and logical for us to proceed with the next number, which is 5.0.

Since Bersih 3.0 on April 28, nothing is done by EC to clean up the voter rolls and it is already five weeks since then.

This means that it is high time citizens spoke up again either through the voice of the NGO Bersih or some other platform.

We must let the EC know that we are very angry with its shenanigans. Perhaps it is also time for us to submit a petition calling on the EC officials to be removed.

Maybe we can have a Petition Day before mid-July, which is close to the first anniversary of Bersih 2.0 held on July 9 last year.

Furthermore, whatever happened to Najib’s words when he said: “The days when the government knows best are over?”

If so, then why is the government still not listening to the voice of the rakyat on April 28? The government must think that we are extremely stupid and that by focusing on other issues, we will forget our demands for free and fair elections.

Himpunan Hijau is organising a rally in Pahang on June 23 as it too did not obtain any response from the government since April 28. This time around it will be a 24-hour rally.

We too can take a cue from them by having a nine-hour event, say, from 9am to 6pm in a stadium due to the long hours.

The crux of the matter is that we too dislike such events but we have absolutely no choice as the government seems to be doing its best to ignore us. Why won’t they listen? How to make them listen?

Model democracy
The prime minister has always proclaimed Malaysia to be a model democracy. Then why a clampdown on the voice of the people when we are only demanding free and fair elections?

In fact, we the rakyat want to work together with the government and the EC in ensuring that the elections are clean so that we can enjoy voting and are happy to vote.

It is high time Najib listened to the voice of the people.

As it is now, he is just giving a false impression of the people’s hopes and aspirations when he is abroad.

Not everyone is happy with his leadership. He should know that there are rumbles of discontent.

Otherwise, why is he still delaying the 13th general election by not dissolving Parliament when he seems to be giving indications that the polls are just around the corner?

Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.