People’s Tribunal to hear complaints of polls fraud despite absence of EC, police

The People's Tribunal set up by election reforms group Bersih to investigate allegations of fraud during the May 5 general election will hear the testimony of about 30 witnesses when it begins proceedings tomorrow.

People's Tribunal organising committee member Ivy Josiah told The Malaysian Insider that apart from voters, academics, representatives of non-governmental organisations and opposition politicians, invitations to participate in the inquiry have also been sent to the police, the Election Commission (EC) and Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

"The police have replied that they will not send a representative to hold a watching brief," she told The Malaysian Insider in Kuala Lumpur.

EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar also told The Malaysian Insider that the EC will not take part, citing the Constitution which did not outline any regulations for the commission to join such tribunals.

The participation of the ruling BN was unclear but space has been created to accommodate it, Josiah said.

The tribunal will investigate from five days beginning tomorrow reports and complaints that the 13th general election was neither free nor fair.

Questions have been raised over the integrity of the electoral rolls used by the EC and whether excessive funds were used to entice voters to cast their ballots.

Stressing that the proceedings would not be turned into an authorities-bashing event, but "to present evidence in a responsible manner", Josiah said, "For this reason, the legal team comprising some 30 lawyers has scrutinised the evidence and reduced them to statutory declarations."

Josiah said the inquiry was significant because it was a public court to find out the truth.

"This is a tribunal by the people and for the people, in quest of the truth and love for the nation," she told The Malaysian Insider.

She said the tribunal was keenly anticipated both locally and abroad as it was an initiative outside the government machinery and held after a keenly contested election.

BN kept federal power after winning 133 seats, nine less than in the 2008 general election. Pakatan Rakyat (PR), made up of DAP, PAS and PKR, won 89 seats.

Josiah said the tribunal would also allow the people to voice their grievances.

"The tribunal drives home the point that there is another platform for the public to express themselves with the help of non-governmental organisations," she said.

She noted that almost all 70 election petitions before the election judges were struck out on technical grounds, denying the public the opportunity to hear accounts of what had happened before, during and after the polls.

Ivy Josiah (2nd from left) with other members of the Bersih People's Tribunal organising committee. - September 17, 2013.Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has emphasised that the tribunal did not have a legal force but a moral strength.

The tribunal will be chaired by Nigerian Yash Pal Ghai, an expert in constitutional law and a human rights activist.

Other international panel members include Ramlan Surbakti (former deputy chairman of the Indonesian Election Commission) and Kraisak Choonhavan (president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus).

Malaysians on the tribunal are lawyer Datuk Azzat Kamaludin (former administrative and diplomatic officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia), Dr Mavis Puthucheary (former associate professor from the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya) and Rev Dr Hermen Shastri (general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia).

Leading the tribunal's legal team is Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar, a law professor from University of Malaya and a senior practising lawyer who will act as the conducting officer.

Similar to a Royal Commission of Inquiry, he will lead evidence and tender relevant documents to the panel while interested parties are allowed to examine witnesses and scrutinise documents with the consent of the panel.

Josiah said barring unforeseen circumstances, the committee was optimistic the tribunal would hear the testimony of all the witnesses' over the scheduled five days.

"The report will be presented to Bersih which I believe will make public the outcome of the inquiry for the people to judge," she said.

Meanwhile, Wan Ahmad downplayed the would-be effects of the tribunal's findings.

He said any resolution issued by the tribunal would be non-binding and merely a conclusion out of a discussion.

“It is all right if the results issued were not implemented… since the outcome is just their opinion,” he said, pointing out that debates in Parliament were the authentic platform to discuss issues pertaining to the elections.

He also said it would not come as a surprise if the tribunal were to urge EC officials to resign.

“A tribunal forum sounds like a sentencing… so I am not surprised if they (Bersih) call for the resignation of all EC members since it acts as the people’s court,” he said.

"Any contentions against the results of the election can only be heard by the courts," Wan Ahmad added.