So easy to suppress voting rights, Malaysian
newbies find out
From the new on-line newspaper the Malaysian insight
Malaysia does not practise automatic voter registration and some new voters have discovered that the system is open to abuse. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Seth Akmal, April 3, 2017.
ROSS Stephenson, 24, was keen to exercise
his democratic rights and in August 2016, registered as a new voter. But he was
stunned when he received a notice in February from the Election Commission
(EC), informing him of his status as a “dubious voter”.
Stephenson was later directed to appear at
a public inquiry at the EC branch in Shah Alam.
The first-timer would have been eligible to
vote in the Petaling Jaya Selatan constituency in the 14th general election
(GE14), which must be held by August 24, 2018.
“I’ve been checking my status regularly
online and was shocked to find that someone had objected to my application. The
reason was ‘pemilih diragui’ (dubious voter),” Stephenson said.
If a new voter fails to show up at the
public inquiry on the specified date and time, then his or her application will
be struck out.
At the Umno general assembly in December
2016, Barisan Nasional chairman and Prime Minister Najib Razak had hinted that
GE14 would be held “soon”. (New voters who registered by March 31 are eligible
to vote in September.)
Easy to object
“I went to the EC office to check and find
out how the objector obtained my details,” Stephenson said.
An EC officer told him anyone could check
on a new voter’s status in the office as all details, such as name, address and
identity card number, were printed in the electoral rolls.
“The officer said the information is
publicly available… the objector just has to pay RM10 for each objection form,”
he said.
When Stephenson (pic) turned up at
the EC office in Shah Alam on March 6, there were more than 40 new voters
waiting to hear their case. There were also 10 objectors at the office.
“I then went before a judge and showed my
evidence, such as utility bills and birth certificate. After the judge reviewed
the evidence, he ruled that my registration was valid.
“The judge then awarded RM100 as
compensation and said the objector would have to pay the fine.
“If I hadn’t shown up for the hearing, my
name would have been removed and I’d have to register again.”
The objector has yet to pay the RM100 fine.
Stephenson said there were legitimate
reasons to object, such as to weed out phantom voters, those who have died or
migrated overseas.
“The objection system is there as a form of
transparency and accountability, but my concern is that it is being abused by
certain parties.”
Facing a similar predicament was IT
consultant Chim Chee How, 25, a would-be voter in the Petaling Jaya Selatan
constituency.
He was surprised to receive a letter from
the EC last month, stating that he was a dubious voter.
“What really ticks me off is the fact that
I had to cancel my meetings on the specified date and rush to the EC branch to
attend the public hearing.
“At the inquiry, I found out that my
neighbour was the one who had objected to my registration. When I asked her
about the objection, she said someone told her to put in the objection.
“I feel that there is something suspicious
going on,” he said.
Monash University student Ho Wing Tjun, 23,
who was also marked as a dubious voter and had to attend the public inquiry on
March 6, said the incident has made him even more determined to get his name on
the electoral roll.
Ho, who would be voting in the same
constituency as Stephenson and Chim, said he won the case and was informed that
his name would be on the roll within three months.
“I will continue to check on the status of
my registration until my name appears on the roll. Nothing, is going to stop me
from voting in the general election.”
Deterring new voters
National Oversight and Whistle-blowers
Centre (NOW) director Akmal Nasir said the objection process was one of the
easiest ways for some parties to suppress voters’ rights.
“Before this, we had the issue of not
enough forms or few EC counters to deter new voters from applying.
“But with this new technique, it’s easier
for them (certain parties) to stop people from becoming voters.”
Akmal said it was a desperate attempt by
groups to spoil the registration process by abusing the system.
“The EC has to scrutinise the application
process, as it is open to abuse and some are doing it for their personal
interest. The EC must improve the objection process.”
Akmal, who is also the chief resource
officer of the PKR-run Invoke, said the non-governmental organisation was
trying to reach out to two million out of the four million unregistered voters.
“We have a call centre that is trying to
reach out to unregistered voters and we expect to reach about 5% to 10% hit
rate. If there’s any complaint or they’re facing issues, we will assist them to
register.
“We will also bring the ARO (assistant
registrar officers) to their house and register them.”
Electoral Watchdog Bersih 2.0 chairman
Maria Chin Abdullah said the EC should implement automatic voting registration,
which enables a link between the EC and the National Registration Department.
“The system will have the complete details
of the name, age and addressees of the voters. It will also have a database of
those who has died or migrated. This system will save taxpayers’ funds,” she
said.
Maria said the EC should implement the
system unless it had a hidden agenda.
“Are they aiming to disenfranchise targeted
voters, such as those in Selangor? We have also recently received complaints of
new voters who are having their registration challenged in Kedah.”
Maria advised new and existing voters to
keep checking their status and urged them to complain if their names were
missing from the electoral roll. – April 3, 2017.
