Asia Times: Rules for Malaysia's election are flawed, critics say



	November 16, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Rules for Malaysia's election are flawed, critics say
By Anil Netto

PENANG, Malaysia - As Malaysia gears up for its November 29 general election, critics and watchdog groups are airing concerns about the short campaign period, inadequate access to the media, and discrepancies in the electoral rolls.

The official nine-day campaign period begins on nomination day on November 20 and continues until the eve of polling. This ultra-short period leaves opposition parties, with inadequate access to television, radio and the mainstream press, little time to reach out to voters, critics say.

Opposition parties and critics have slammed the Election Commission, saying that the campaign period - similar to that allowed in the 1986 poll - is the shortest in the country's history. But the announcement should not have come as a surprise. ''The short campaign period is to be expected,'' says media analyst Zaharom Nain, adding that there have always been short campaign periods in Malaysia. ''The opposition have always worked at a disadvantage but they can't argue they are not ready or that they didn't expect it.''

The rules of the election play a crucial role in the light of recent polls that show four out of 10 voters still undecided about who they will vote for in the poll that the government called last week.

Zaharom says the opposition faces a tough task because it is handicapped by lack of access to the media that are loathe to offend the government. ''From what I have seen there has been virtually no [mainstream] media coverage of the opposition - unless it is to belittle or discredit them,'' he says. ''Suddenly ministers who have never been quoted before in the media are appearing and essentially campaigning using their government positions.''

Political pundits say the might of the ruling coalition lies in the so-called Four Ms: money, the machinery of state, the media, and the advantage that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's incumbency offers. The media advantage will prove crucial. ''It is of course undemocratic and unrepresentative,'' says Zaharom, ''but that essentially is what happens when you have the media totally in the hands of the incumbent government.''

Thirty-two political parties are vying to fill 193 parliamentary seats and 394 state seats. But the real contest will be between the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition and the newly formed Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front).

The Barisan Alternatif comprises the new National Justice Party (keADILan) inspired by ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, the Islamic Party (PAS), the multi-ethnic Democratic Action Party (DAP), and the tiny Malaysian People's Party (PRM). Because of the difficulty of booting out the Barisan Nasional, the opposition is trying to whittle down the more than two-thirds majority it holds in Parliament.

Meantime, electoral watchdog groups have questioned the integrity of the electoral rolls. Election commission officials have admitted that they have deleted only about some 300,000 of about half a million dead voters from the rolls. Another 680,000 new voters who registered to vote in April and May this year will not be eligible to vote. Many of the 300,000 applications for change of address have not yet been processed.

Budi, a group of concerned citizens spearheading the independent Malaysian Citizens Election Watch (Pemantau), comprising 42 Malaysian NGOs, has been checking the Election Commission's rolls, which are available on a CD-Rom.

According to Budi's project officer, Kamarul Osman, 64,701 voters on the list have identity cards that are duplicates of others on the rolls. ''We also confirm that there are so many addresses that are not in existence.'' In some cases, Kamarul said, the voters' homes exist, ''but when we meet the houseowners, there are no such persons [as listed on the electoral rolls] living in those houses''.

A common irregularity among voters' documents, says Kamarul, is that they do not list dates of birth. He suspects that this could be to allow substitute younger voters to vote on behalf of older people or those who have died. A staggering 4.9 million voters on the roll of 9.6 million voters do not have their date of birth stated.

In fact, Pemantau has launched a signature campaign calling for a mass re-registration of voters before the elections. It says this new registration list should be used instead of the present electoral roll which is based on data compiled since 1958.

Budi officials also slammed the process of postal balloting for the military, saying there is no need for it if soldiers are within the country. Some 235,000 security personnel and their spouses are entitled to vote using postal ballots. But Wan Abdul Majid Wan Abdullah, a retired air force brigadier general who is Budi's deputy president, says that in reality many of them do not even see their ballot papers.

''In the 34 years I was in the military service, I have never voted even once,'' Wan Abdul Majid told IPS. ''I don't think the way they are conducting it [postal balloting] today is relevant.''

For speaking out, Wan Abdul Majid has suffered personally. Since he began revealing the irregularities in the postal balloting system, he has lost his directorships in two public companies.

His doubts over the integrity of the military postal ballots are shared by another Budi member, Maizun Ayob, who retired from the military's supplies secretariat. ''We never voted. Somebody else voted on our behalf,'' she said. ''We don't know who.'' Some suspect that votes are ticked off by other defense personnel due to the limited time given to pass the postal ballot papers to personnel in the field. However, ''There is no reason why you cannot have a polling station on a military base,'' says Wan Abdul Majid.

The 235,000 postal voters may not seem like many. But taken together with their spouses and spread over 193 constituencies - where winning majorities in many areas are usually slim - they could well sway the election result. This time, postal ballots are expected to be even more crucial, with Malaysians apparently split down the middle in their support for Mahathir's ruling coalition.

(Inter Press Service)

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©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.