MP puzzled over ‘missing’ Klang voters

Klang MP Charles Santiago wants the EC to explain why 3,457 voters have gone missing from the voter list while another 2,195 were transferred out

PETALING JAYA: Klang MP Charles Santiago is baffled over the status of 5,652 voters in his parliamentary constituency who have either gone missing from the electoral roll or been transferred out.

Some 3,457 of the 5,652 voters no longer have their information stored in the Election Commission’s (EC) database, Santiago said.

“We’d like to know from the EC what happened to the missing 3,457 voters. The voter movement is also highly irregular,” said Santiago, who is also Selangor DAP vice-president.

“I don’t think 3,457 people have died in Klang since 2008 because there are no records of any epidemic outbreaks in Klang,” he added.

“We wrote to the EC on May 17 for an explanation but it has not responded to our letter,” said Santiago, who obtained the figures from the EC a fortnight ago.

He also revealed that of the 5,652 voters, 2,195 of them have been transferred to 184 parliamentary constituencies, including Sabah and Sarawak.

The majority were transferred to parliamentary constituencies within Selangor.

According to Santiago, the breakdown within Selangor is:

Kapar (430 voters), Kota Raja (317), Shah Alam (146), Subang (56), Kuala Langat (79), Kelana Jaya (65), Kuala Selangor (55), Hulu Selangor (51) and Hulu Langat (51).

On the 2,195 voters transferred out of Klang, Santiago said that they had neither moved out of Klang nor given their consent to be transferred out to other constituencies.

He added that the number of voters who had their constituencies changed could possibly be higher but he had no proof to substantiate it.

“The EC should clean up its roll. The system is reeking with irregularities,” he said.

When asked on the next course of action, Santago said that he is considering taking legal action against the EC if those affected were willing to come forward and file a complaint.

The issue of irregularities in the voter rolls nationwide was among the reasons which led to the Bersih 3.0 mammoth rally on April 28, calling for free and fair elections.

The rally saw more than 80,000 people converging along roads leading to Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur which was the focal point of the gathering.