'Noh has confirmed our worst fears'

Selangor Umno deputy chief Noh Omar's rejection of a Selangorku Bersih programme only proves that the BN has something to hide, claimed Faekah Husin, the political secretary to the menteri besar. 

Faekah Husin said in a statement that Noh should be supportive of the Selangor government’s voter verification exercise to ensure that the next state election is clean, free of malpractices and fair.

"Noh's apprehension of the programme has confirmed the fear of the people in Selangor that there are elements of treachery by BN, the Election Commission (EC) and the National Registration Department," said Faekah.

Faekah was commenting on Noh's call to the public to ignore the exercise, claiming that the state government has no authority to conduct this and that only the EC has the power to do so. 

The programme was initiated after it was revealed that Selangor had recorded 600,000 new voters since 2008 - the highest increase nationwide.

Faekah explained that the figure has been an eye-opener for the state government and it is carrying out the programme because it is a responsible government. 

She said the programme will be of help to the EC and may even help spruce up the commission's image. 

It involves mobilising state civil servants and village security and development committee heads to inspect the voter list throughout Selangor, to verify that voters reside at the address under which they have registered.