Election Commission: Crooks Are Cool ?
EC shoots down Bersih’s demands ahead of rally
This is despite repeated calls by the commission for Bersih to call off the march and meet them to discuss Bersih’s demands.
Bersih is pushing for a free and fair election system, and has listed eight demands which includes the need for automatic registration, use of indelible ink when voting, and the need for a longer campaigning period.
EC deputy chairman Datuk Wira Wan Ahmad charged that implementing automatic voter registration contravened the “spirit of democracy”, and would involve amending Article 119 of the federal constitution which would be an “arduous” task.
“Those who designed the constitution, placed importance of freedom of choice whether or not to vote. We don’t practice mandatory voting in this country.
“Democracy also requires intelligent people. Automatic registration would enable even a mad man to cast his vote which will not contribute anything to the process,” he said today.
Wan Ahmad said that most eligible unregistered voters were “lazy”, and quoted a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia survey to support his claim.
“Most of those surveyed said they were either lazy or indifferent...So if these people are automatically registered they won’t take the election process seriously at all,” he added.
Wan Ahmad then argued against the use of indelible ink during voting, saying it was “regressive” as the only countries in the world that use it are less developed countries like Africa and Indonesia.
“Not everyone wants to have indelible ink on them. This will create problems on voting day. The constitution states that all registered voters must be given a voting slip, so if someone doesn’t want to, then we cannot stop them from voting,” he said.
Wan Ahmad also raised the possibilty of voters not wanting their fingers inked and questioned if they would then be barred from voting.
“Disqualifying them would go against their rights...I also heard that indelible ink can be easily obtained from Thailand. What if voters ink their fingers themselves before casting their vote? Can you imagine the chaos that will erupt when they are barred from voting?” said the EC deputy head.
Wan Ahmad also brushed off Bersih’s demands for a 21-day campaign perios for political parties, saying that it was “unnecessary” as Malaysia was a small country and its people were politically-informed through the media.
He said that the 21-day period as requested by Bersih only made sense for countries like Indonesia due to its vastness and huge voter base.
“We feel that the current seven or 14 day timeframe is reasonable...We are a developed country and even voters in the rural areas are aware of the policies of each political party.
“There has never been a voter who has asked for a longer campaign period in order to understand what (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) or (Datuk) Nik (Abdul) Aziz (Nik Mat) stand for,” said Wan Ahmad.
Berbaju BERSIH: 23 ahli majlis diarah ke balai polis
Daripada jumlah 23 ahli Majlis Perbandaran Kajang itu, hanya tujuh hadir ke ibu pejabat polis daerah (IPD) Kajang petang ini.
Gara-gara memakai baju BERSIH pada mesyuarat bulanannya semalam, seramai 23 orang ahli Majlis Perbandaran Kajang dipanggil polis supaya kenyataan mereka dapat dirakamkan.
Daripada jumlah itu, hanya tujuh hadir ke ibu pejabat polis daerah (IPD) Kajang petang ini.
Bagaimanapun, menurut seorang daripada mereka Chandra Mohan ST, mereka masih tidak pasti akan disiasat mengikut akta mana.
MPK mempunyai 24 anggota. Daripada jumlah itu hanya 20 orang hadir dalam mesyuarat semalam.
Ketujuh-tujuh mereka, Chandra, Ng Tien Chee, Steven Chan Jeong Hon, Tan Boon Wah, Lee Kee Hiong, Chang Siaw Hong dan Datuk Noorhisham Ishak.
Mereka diiringi peguam Lim Lip Eng yang juga anggota parlimen Segambut.
Ambil gambar
Malaysiakini difahamkan, dalam mesyuarat semalam di pejabat MPK di bandar Kajang, lima anggota polis turut hadir dan mengambil gambar semua anggota majlis itu.Selepas selesai memberikan keterangan kira-kira 30 minit kemudian, Chandra memberitahu pemberita mereka diarah memberikan keterangan bawah Seskyen 112 Kanun Acara Jenayah sebagai saksi.
Katanya, selain maklumat diri, kehadiran mereka semalam dan bidang tugas sebagai ahli majlis, turut ditanya pendirian mereka tentang tuntutan BERSIH.
Bagaimanapun, menurut Chandra lagi, mereka tidak ditanya sama ada menyokong perhimpunan pada 9 Julai ini.
"Bagaimanapun, soalan ya! ng tidak relevan kami tidak jawab," katanya merujuk soalan seperti nama anggota keluarga yang lain.
Bagi Norhisham pula, soalan yang ditanyakan kepada mereka terlalu mudah dan tidak memerlukan mereka hadir merakamkan kenyataan hari ini.
"Lebih baik mereka hantar soalan dan kami jawab dengan e-mel sahaja," katanya.
Semua mereka bagaimanapun tidak pasti sama ada akan dipanggil lagi membantu siasatan polis.
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