SUARA RAKYAT MALAYSIA
24 April 2007
EC and Police must clean up their acts and ensure free and fair election in Ijok
The Ijok by-election, which will see constituents going to the polls on 28 April 2007, should have been a perfect opportunity for the Elections Commission (EC) to clean up its act after the shameful irregularities which marred the recently concluded Machap by-election. In the Machap by-election, the EC had failed miserably to live up to its Constitutional mission to ensure the practice of a free and fair election. Violence and intimidation, blatant abuse of state machinery and resources, bribery in the form of treating, and outright vote-buying had marred the election in Machap.
Despite being given an opportunity to make amends in the ongoing Ijok election, the EC still seems incompetent, with polling day just 4 days from now. From the very start of the election process in Ijok, scenes of irregularities as seen in Machap seemed to be reoccurring.
On 19 April, the nomination process for the Ijok by-election was marred by a scuffle between supporters of the Barisan Nasional (BN) and opposition parties, where two opposition supporters were said to be hurt. Eyewitness and news reports claimed that bottles and flag poles were hurled at each other – hitting several press photographers. Meanwhile on 21 April, Malaysiakini reported that about 20 people, including some in Pemuda BN uniform, allegedly tried to intimidate Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Khalid Ibrahim and two freelance photographers who were with him.
The violence and intimidation in Ijok is an infringement of the fundamental rights of citizens to participate without fear in the democratic process. The police must act responsibly in maintaining order to ensure that democratic principles in the electoral process be upheld.
While the police have failed to act against the intimidators, they have, on the other hand, been swift when it came to stopping the opposition from campaigning. On 23 April, a PKR ceramah was stopped by the police. This is a blatant denial of the democratic rights of the opposition to participate and campaign in the electoral process.
SUARAM urges the police to stop taking sides, and act immediately against all perpetrators of violence and intimidation which will disrupt the democratic process in Ijok. Meanwhile, the EC must act immediately, to ensure irregularities like intimidation and the use of state machinery by the BN be stopped, and prevent the practice of vote buying and bribery in Ijok. The EC, entrusted by the people to ensure free and fair elections, and the police, entrusted to maintain order, must ensure a level playing field in the election and that voters are not threatened, intimidated or bribed in any manner. Failing to do so would be insult to all Malaysians and denying them their fundamental democratic rights. (Ends)
John Liu
SUARAM Coordinator
The Election Commission must be an IMPARTIAL referee ! It must have ONE, and only ONE, standard. No double standards, please.
Win or lose ,the elction must be conducted FAIRLY. Police permits must be available for BOTH Parties. It is sad and regretable that some PKR ceramahs have been stopped . What about the BN ceramahs ?
malaysia08