Rallies? Demonstrations? Stop This Madness!

 

PR must push for reforms in the proper way and let’s hope they could capture Putrajaya in 2018 with a two-third majority and change the law.

Art Harun 

Art Harun asks everyone to hit him. Kinky.

I am going to be unpopular with this post. But I feel strongly about it and I just have to put my thoughts on this issue.

I know there are many many videos of buses allegedly ferrying foreigners to polling stations on 5th May, the polling day. There are reports of “Bangladeshis” or people who look like Bangladeshis/foreigners being interrogated while lining up to cast their votes. There are also videos of people who are supposedly being paid off by what appeared to be agents of Barisan Nasional.

And almost 95% of netizens, I dare say, conclude that there was massive fraud during GE13.

We therefore attended rallies to question the GE results. Anwar Ibrahim vows not to stop rallying until the BN is forced out of Putrajaya. Today I read somewhere a threat to “go to the streets” to force BN out.

Frankly, I think this is SHEER MADNESS.

The election laws are there. You have 21 days from the gazette of the results to file election petitions. Proof your case in the election courts and get the results annulled. It is as simple as that.
I know. I know. The Courts cannot be trusted, right? haven’t we heard of this before?

This is the same Court which acquitted Anwar Ibrahim; the same Court which held Utusan Malaysia to be liable for defamation on countless occasions; the same Courts which annulled JAWI’s action against Borders; the same Courts in which Rosli Dahlan won his case etc etc.

The election laws are tough, that I know. They are tough because the basic premise is that the result which is being challenged is a result of VOTING. Therefore unless there are cogent reasons and reasons which could stand the scrutiny of the laws, that results stand and MUST STAND.

So, if there is evidence — evidence which satisfies the burden of proof — then by all means, file a petition and get it heard.

Many of us confuse things. There are two issues here:

Firstly it is about the alleged cheating/fraud/vote buying/corrupt practices. This, I say, you file election petition and PROOF your allegations.

Secondly, and this is a tough one, is the fact that PR had more popular votes but the BN still win because the constituencies are demarcated in such a way to make the rural votes more relevant in determining the result as well as to make certain constituencies needing more votes to win than certain other constituencies (for example, in Putrajaya, 12000 voters bring one parliamentary seats while in Subang Jaya, you need I don’t know, 70000 voters?).

This second issue CANNOT BE BROUGHT UP IN ELECTION PETITIONS. This is not a matter for the Courts to decide.

For this one, you need to change the demarcation of the constituencies, which needs to be done by the Parliament. If I am not mistaken this act needs a two-third majority. Now, that is tough because BN doesn’t have two-third majority (even if they had, they surely don’t want to do it).

For this to happen, the PR must push for reforms in the proper way and let’s hope they could capture Putrajaya in 2018 with a two-third majority and change the law. Again, this is a tough thing.
I think we should get on with life. Do some really good things for the next five years. The people of Malaysia would remember your deeds and repay you in the next GE.

File election petitions first. Get the evidence out. And see whether they stands up to scrutiny.

Now, it is Art Harun bashing time.

Go on. Hit me.