Polls sanctity is EC’s responsibility, can’t dismiss 28pc unverified Selangor voters

EC deputy chief, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, told a press conference yesterday that not being able to trace 28 per cent of voters is “normal”. — file picCOMMENTARY, March 9 — Today, five years ago, Malaysia woke up to a changed political and national landscape with Barisan Nasional (BN) keeping the federal government with just a simple majority but losing four more states to a nascent Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Election 2008.

Today, the ruling BN federal government and the four states under PR have yet to call elections as their mandate only expires five years after their respective legislatures began meeting.

But the responsibility of ensuring democracy is alive and well and that only Malaysians can decide their government through the ballot box lies with the Election Commission (EC).

So, it is incredulous that the EC says that 28 per cent of unidentified new voters is normal, after Selangor reported the discrepancy found among the 500,000 new voters in the country’s richest state.

“The question of 28 per cent of new voters who can’t be traced, that is normal,” EC deputy chief, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, told a press conference yesterday.

Dismissing the opposition’s concerns, Wan Ahmad said people were moving around the country, changing jobs, graduating, and this had contributed to the number of voters who cannot be identified.

This is disturbing, coming from the agency that runs elections that decides the country’s political leadership.

Can people trust an agency that dismisses complaints and refuses to work to clean up the electoral rolls, or wrings its hands and blames mistakes and discrepancies on other government departments?

Isn’t the EC’s job to ensure that electoral rolls are checked and verified to ensure only eligible Malaysians can exercise their right to vote?

If the sanctity of polls cannot be guaranteed, then the EC will be held responsible, responsible not only for this election but in Malaysians’ belief in the electoral system.

Can those who serve in the EC take on that role responsibly for King and country, rather than serve the government of the day? And if not, can they leave the job to those more responsible?

The on-going royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on Sabah’s illegal immigrants has shown the effect of giving citizenship for votes, following testimony at the hearings.

The EC cannot shrug off the complaints as proof that other agencies are in the wrong and it only does what it can, that is to hold elections. That is the wrong attitude to take, just as it is wrong to dismiss the high number of unidentified voters in Selangor.

The EC has to do better than that. Anything less will erode the people’s confidence in the EC and affect the legitimacy of the country’s next government when elections are finally called.

We cannot have Malaysians doubting the electoral system. It is then imperative for the EC to work out the issues with all parties before Election 2013 takes place.

The failure to do so is unimaginable, a majority of people who do not believe in any institution and assume their country has been robbed from them through dirty tactics by unscrupulous people. Where will the EC commissioners hide their face then?

It is just better to do the right thing and ensure there are no complaints about the electoral rolls and the conduct of the general election. Rather than be cursed for being partisan in running the elections.

This is the EC’s call, to hold clean and fair elections and not make excuses when anomalies and discrepancies are discovered.

* Jahabar Sadiq runs The Malaysian Insider.