No solution yet to dubious voters on Sabah electoral roll, says EC chairman

Election Commission chairman Azhar Harun (front row, centre) with Sabah UiTM staff and students after delivering a keynote address in Kota Kinabalu today.

KOTA KINABALU: Election Commission (EC) chairman Azhar Harun says there is no solution as yet to address the issue of alleged non-citizens on Sabah’s electoral roll.

Azhar said citizenship is a major issue that involves one’s constitutional rights, as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

“And allegations of false citizenship are a serious allegation. Once you are a citizen, and this is signified by the identity card (IC) you hold, you are protected by the Federal Constitution.

“It’s not easy for the state, country and government to take away your citizenship.

I don’t have a solution. We have been nagging the home ministry and National Registration Department (JPN) to take action on this issue. It’s going to be a tedious process.”

He spoke after delivering a keynote address at the “Symposium on Electoral Reform 2019” organised by Sabah Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

Azhar said some 16,000 names were struck out from the electoral roll following the 2013 Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Into Illegal Immigrants.

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) had previously voiced concern over the automatic registration of voters.

Citing concerns over illegal immigrants and questionable voters, PBS president Maximus Ongkili said automatic registration should only be implemented once the electoral roll is accepted as clean.

He wanted Sabah exempted from the registration for a period until this had been done or a pre-qualification committee be formed to scrutinise all 18-year-olds before they are automatically registered as voters.

“We do not want illegals to decide through the ballot box who will be the next prime minister or chief minister, or our elected leaders in legislative houses,” Ongkili had said.

Azhar said the EC will hold special meetings with Sabah and Sarawak parties over the Undi 18 and automatic registration of voters in future.

He added they will also meet the home ministry again to discuss the issue of dubious citizens on the roll.

“They are, of course, aware of the issues that are being raised. But the engagement is at a very early stage so what will and can be done has not yet been settled.

“There are also some allegations about dubious citizens but when we ask for evidence, there is none. So, it is difficult.

“If you’re going to allege false citizenship, then the evidence must be really clear,” he said.

Azhar said the EC is a secondary user of data provided by the JPN, adding the EC has no power to determine citizenship matters.

Speaking on the issue during a dialogue session with students earlier, he said the EC recognises the issue as a serious problem in Sabah.

“EC is a victim, not the cause. We are not the ones issuing ICs and also do not decide who are citizens.

“How do we solve this? It involves corruption and other things.

“The Immigration Department and JPN have to step up their standard operating procedures while the home ministry should also take proactive measures,” he said. - FMT