Polls body ‘sacking’ assistant registrars to avoid increasing urban seats, says DAP

The Election Commission's (EC) decision not to reappoint assistant registrars (AROs) from political parties ahead of the delineation exercise is intended to avoid increasing seats in opposition-held urban areas, says DAP lawmaker Ong Kian Ming (pic).

He said the EC's decision affected most of DAP's AROs in the country and with fewer AROs available, the public may find it more difficult to register as new voters.

"If the number of voters was to increase post-GE13, especially in Pakatan areas with the help of Pakatan AROs registering new voters, there will be more pressure on the EC to increase the number of seats in these areas," Ong said today in Kuala Lumpur.

"By not renewing the status of these AROs, voter-registration activities in these areas will be decreased, which takes some pressure off from the EC to increase the number of seats in these areas."

AROs from political parties are individuals who have been appointed by the EC to help with registering new voters.

However, the EC has informed all political parties that there would be no reappointment of existing AROs or appointment of new AROs once their term expires.

The reason was to enable coordination and streamlining of existing voter-registration rules and processes.

Although Malaysians are able to register as a voter at EC offices, post offices or with other organisational AROs, Ong said previous data had shown that political parties had been successful at drawing in most of the new voters.

"For example, from January to June 2010, Pakatan parties registered 107,050 new voters while BN only registered 59,351 new voters in Peninsular Malaysia.

"Out of the Pakatan number, DAP registered more than 50,000 new voters," Ong said.

"There are effectively no more AROs in the peninsula."

The move would largely affect the states of Selangor and Johor, which formed the bulk of the estimated 3.5 to four million unregistered voters.

Johor's Mengkibol assemblyman Tan Hong Pin said: "AROs had helped reduce the burden on the EC and made it more convenient for new voters to register without the hassle of going to the EC office or post office".

A former ARO, Duncan Lee, said: "In Selangor, there is only one EC office and when people hear of the location, they are deterred from going since it's far away.

"Post offices are not the most convenient either. People have informed us that there is either no forms available or that the system is down."

DAP is now awaiting for a response from EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof on the AROs and delineation exercise.

"If the EC wants to stop AROs who registered voters improperly, then it should prosecute these AROs than stop all AROs from carrying out their duties," said Ong.

Selangor's Kampung Tunku assemblyperson Lau Weng San said the EC had yet to respond to the issue of AROs.

"Before 2010, we received the breakdown of each party's performance, including the number of voters registered. But after 2010, the data were no longer issued,” said Lau.