Phantom Voters
Ding-a-Ling, bring out your dead !
'Dead voters' in Malaysia'
About half a million of Malaysia's 10 million registered voters are actually dead, the country's leading election official has said.
"When you talk about the dead on the rolls, I admit there are a lot," Abdul Rashid, Malaysia's Election Commission chairman, said on Friday.
"That's why we are going from village to village to verify the dead."
The announcement comes a day after the opposition Islamic party PAS and Parti Keadilan said they would boycott a January 28 by-election in the state of Pahang because of dubious electoral rolls.
They said the dead on the rolls have led to "phantom voting", a charge that Abdul Rashid denied.
He blamed the voter register discrepancy on poor data collection, archaic election laws and bureaucratic red-tape.
In one case, a woman voter who died in 1975 at the age of 77 was still listed on the 2006 rolls.
Nasharudin Mat Isa, the PAS deputy president, said electoral reform had been slow and inadequate under Abdul Rashid, although he called the election official's acknowledgement a "step in the right" direction.
But Nasharudin said voter discrepancy is only one problem of many that need to be addressed to democratise the electoral landscape of Malaysia, a country of 26 million people.
For example, he said, the government controls most of the mass media and has used it to marginalise opposition parties.
DAP to PAS: Leave us alone, we want no part
The DAP today denied any role or part in the decision by PAS to boycott the Jan 28 Batu Talam by-election.
"DAP has not played any part in influencing the decision made by PAS to boycott the by-election," Lau Weng San, political secretary to party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, said today.
He said he had been directed by Lim to set the record straight, following attempts by PAS and certain newspaper reports' attempt to link the DAP with PAS.
"No discussions were held with PAS because there is no formal co-operation between DAP and PAS. We withdrew from the Barisan Alternatif in 2001 because of PAS' Islamic state agenda.," he added.
Lau said Lim had been consistent with his statements after the seat was declared vacant following the death of the uncumbent assemblyman.
"Lim had emphasised on the onset that DAP had no interest in contesting the seat. Neither Pahang DAP or any party leader has communicated with him to express their intentions that DAP should contest the seat.
"As the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and Lim has to approve the candidates, DAP's position on not contesting in the by-election remains unchanged," he added.
Lau said the DAP regrets any attempt to insinuate that DAP is working with PAS as a result of good relations between DAP and former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"This is wrong. In fact PAS has continued its practice of personally attacking DAP leaders and Negri Sembilan PAS is more hostile towards Negri Sembilan DAP than BN.
"Recently PAS CEC member Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad even said that, 'If PAS has a friend like Guan Eng, we do not need a political adversary like the BN and Umno."
Despite such extreme and irrational provocation from PAS, DAP leaders had refrained from responding in kind.
PAS poitical strategist Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad had in a ceramah in Batu Talam on Wednesday (Jan 10, 2007) night said the boycott was supported by Bersih, a coalition of 25 non-governmental organisations fighting for free and fair elections, of which DAP is a member.
Malaysia dead voters Batu Talam by-election
'Dead voters' in Malaysia'
About half a million of Malaysia's 10 million registered voters are actually dead, the country's leading election official has said.
"When you talk about the dead on the rolls, I admit there are a lot," Abdul Rashid, Malaysia's Election Commission chairman, said on Friday.
"That's why we are going from village to village to verify the dead."
The announcement comes a day after the opposition Islamic party PAS and Parti Keadilan said they would boycott a January 28 by-election in the state of Pahang because of dubious electoral rolls.
They said the dead on the rolls have led to "phantom voting", a charge that Abdul Rashid denied.
He blamed the voter register discrepancy on poor data collection, archaic election laws and bureaucratic red-tape.
In one case, a woman voter who died in 1975 at the age of 77 was still listed on the 2006 rolls.
Nasharudin Mat Isa, the PAS deputy president, said electoral reform had been slow and inadequate under Abdul Rashid, although he called the election official's acknowledgement a "step in the right" direction.
But Nasharudin said voter discrepancy is only one problem of many that need to be addressed to democratise the electoral landscape of Malaysia, a country of 26 million people.
For example, he said, the government controls most of the mass media and has used it to marginalise opposition parties.
DAP to PAS: Leave us alone, we want no part
The DAP today denied any role or part in the decision by PAS to boycott the Jan 28 Batu Talam by-election.
"DAP has not played any part in influencing the decision made by PAS to boycott the by-election," Lau Weng San, political secretary to party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, said today.
He said he had been directed by Lim to set the record straight, following attempts by PAS and certain newspaper reports' attempt to link the DAP with PAS.
"No discussions were held with PAS because there is no formal co-operation between DAP and PAS. We withdrew from the Barisan Alternatif in 2001 because of PAS' Islamic state agenda.," he added.
Lau said Lim had been consistent with his statements after the seat was declared vacant following the death of the uncumbent assemblyman.
"Lim had emphasised on the onset that DAP had no interest in contesting the seat. Neither Pahang DAP or any party leader has communicated with him to express their intentions that DAP should contest the seat.
"As the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and Lim has to approve the candidates, DAP's position on not contesting in the by-election remains unchanged," he added.
Lau said the DAP regrets any attempt to insinuate that DAP is working with PAS as a result of good relations between DAP and former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"This is wrong. In fact PAS has continued its practice of personally attacking DAP leaders and Negri Sembilan PAS is more hostile towards Negri Sembilan DAP than BN.
"Recently PAS CEC member Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad even said that, 'If PAS has a friend like Guan Eng, we do not need a political adversary like the BN and Umno."
Despite such extreme and irrational provocation from PAS, DAP leaders had refrained from responding in kind.
PAS poitical strategist Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad had in a ceramah in Batu Talam on Wednesday (Jan 10, 2007) night said the boycott was supported by Bersih, a coalition of 25 non-governmental organisations fighting for free and fair elections, of which DAP is a member.
Malaysia dead voters Batu Talam by-election
Labels: Malaysia news
posted by Ah Yun Wong at
11:16 AM
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