Online voters registration can be good-but how about security?

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/17263-poll-activists-back-online-registration-but-urge-caution

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Election watch groups have welcomed the Election Commission’s plans to introduce online voter registration which, they believe, will improve the efficiency of the electoral registration process.

Malaysian for Free and Fair Election (MAFREL) chairman Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh said: “Obviously we welcome any new innovation to ensure more people will be able to vote and register themselves.”

Currently there are four million Malaysians eligible to vote but have not yet registered with the EC. The EC hopes to implement the system once a thorough study is completed.

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Pilihanraya kecil KT `terbaik’ bagi SPR?

Betulkah pilihanraya kecil KT merupakan `contoh’ atau `paras tertinggi’ bagi pilihanraya-pilihanraya yang pernah dijalankan oleh SPR? Tanpa satu laporan yang menjawab semua pertanyaan awam/parti politik tentang kelemahan-kelemahan yang dikesan oleh rakyat umum pimpinan SPR nampaknya tergesa-gesa memberi pujian kepada dirinya sendiri. Rakyat masih menunggu SPR menerangkan pecatan Pengurus Pilihanraya KT 2 hari sebelum hari pembuangan undi, pemberian RM300.00 seorang kepada pemberita yang bertugas di Press centre; salahguna jentera dan peruntukan Kerajaan Pusat, Kerajaan Negeri dan Kerajaan Tempatan untuk berkempen bagi 1 calon; terdapatnya pemilih mati dalam daftar pemilih dsb. Sehingga semua gejala-gejala kepincangan ini dibersihkan SPR tidak harus mendabik dada mengumumkan keberkesanan team baru ini lagi. Mungkin kesan puji diri ini hanya akan kecilkan hati ketua SPR yang baru berundur!

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Onward to Pensiangan?

After the Kuala Terengganu by-election many observers friends are discussing the possiblity of going to the next exciting by-election -or at least sending a team there to send out hard-to-get on-the-ground reports. But is it so easy as we wish?

Before that some people ask: why go so far? But far from where? If you assume that all distances measure from Kl then you expose your capital centric mindset-something which is not going to go down well to Malaysian voters in Pensiangan and places far from you! Ok-to be fair to all citizens a credible observer group should not shed its responsibility in any part of the country!

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What next after the by-election?

For BN: they blame `local factor’ -is it the `bad candidate’ factor as mentioned earlier? Are there other areas where they would review to improve their chances next time? The next by-election most likely to be in Pensiangan in Sabah’s interior. Even more local factors will be at work. BN need to do a better job here.

PR: 2:0 win in terms of post-general election contests later the coalition is looking forward to next by-election with greater confidence. However the weaknesses among the coalition partners may emerge as a worry. While PAS may not feature much in Sabah politics-the differences among the coalition partners need a mechanism to manage so that the voters will not feel lost as to what exactly is the stand of the PR;

EC/SPR : a new leadership is in place-to what extent they (re)shape the by-election under their management? Negative developments at the by-election eg new restrictions on local observers, are they the work of these `new brooms’ or the leftover from previous team which await a clean-up by the new team?

Observers: What strategy will be adopted to fight the new restrictions from EC? The 2 observers group have differemnt strategies-which one will work better? What house-cleaning issues to be tackled to keep the groups active in between elections when the prospect of (external) funding is unlikly?

Ong BK

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CIJ: investigate the briber of journalists!

The ACA reportedly declined to investigate the allegation of attempted bribery on journalists at the KT by-election on a surprising excuse that the journalists involved did not identify the culprit! Actually the journalist who made a police report did identify the name of the bribe giver in their police report!-Ong BK

MEDIA STATEMENT

19 January 2009

Police, EC and MACC should investigate bribery of journalists

Kuala Lumpur: The authorities should immediately investigate reports that officers from the Terengganu state Information Ministry had offered RM300 cash to journalists covering the Kuala Terengganu by-election over the weekend.

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What KT voters consider when they voted?

They considered the candidates’ qualities-see report from Merdeka Centre survey report here. Does that explain the election results satisfactorily?

Ong BK

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NIEI report:poll irregularities become bi-partisan?

Kenyataan Akhbar

National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI)

Isnin, 19 Januari 2009

Pilihanraya Kecil Parlimen Kuala Terengganu P036

Tiga perkara yang ketara dapat diperhatikan dalam perjalanan proses pilihanraya kecil (PRK) kawasan parlimen Kuala Terengganu (P036):

1. Penginstitusian rasuah dalam pilihanraya

2. Penyalahgunaan jentera kerajaan

3. Kehadiran terlalu ramai anggota polis

Amalan rasuah berleluasa dalam pilihanraya di Malaysia, ini dapat dikenalpasti berlaku dalam proses PRK Kuala Terengganu.

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After victory all is forgiven about weaknesses of EC/SPR?(Updated)

At the votes tabulation centre, and when PAS’ victrory was ascertained PAS president Hadi Awang congratulated EC/SPR for a job well done-does it means that all PAS’ complaints of phantom voters, votes buying, abuses of government resources, intimidating police concentration, bias media, faulty voters’ list, lack of independence of EC/SPR, have thus been forgiven?

When these perenial complaints are sidelined after an election victory it allows the EC/SPR to claim that all the previous complaints about the issues have all along been political gimmicks! Indeed a previous statement by PAS expressing satisfaction over the election process had been seized upon by the EC/SPR to vindicate its weak handling of the election operation.

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The new MP

Mohd Abdul Wahid bin Endut, the PAS candidate,  after the by-election win. This is a win against confident expectation and campaigning by the Star, NST and other mainstream media. The voters think otherwise to these monopoly and clearly bias mainstream media.

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result

charts taken from the malaysian insider

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