Tuesday, March 04, 2008

RM1 M Indelible 2008 Election Ink Scrapped; IGP: Confusion, Public Order & Security at Stake; AG: Amend Constitution 1st; Oppositions think Otherwise


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Believe it or not, IGP & Rashid Genuine fears & the Reports,

With more details released it is now more clearer what are the implications if the Ink is used. Apparently sabotage plans are to be implemented BEFORE Election day to "ink" the rural folks to create the confusion.

The gist of the cancellation and the implication if the Ink is used.

Musa: “uncovered an attempt by some irresponsible people out to create a confusion during Saturday's elections by having voters dipped their fingers in indelible ink BEFORE the polling day”. Rashid is worried this attempt might sabotage the Polls on 8th March and upset the result.; the activity occurring especially in the rural and interior areas, and the aim was to create confusion and suspicion on the status of the voters concerned.

Prevented from voting - Those with fingers marked can be regarded as having casted their votes when they go to the voting centres on polling day. There are also possibilities that those who have been cheated will not go out to vote as they are afraid of being deemed as having committed an offence, This would lead to a chaotic situation at the voting centres, which might be difficult to control as the candidates' agents and EC staff would get confused over the status of the voters= == == == =

UPDATE: March 05, 2008 00:28 AM

PM: EC'S Reversal Of Indelible Ink Decision To Prevent Voter Victimisation

KOTA BAHARU, March 5 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says that the move by the Election Commission (EC) to call off its earlier decision to use indelible ink on the nails or fingers of voters on Saturday is to avoid registered voters from being victimised. The Prime Minister said it was felt that such a decision by the EC was necessary to prevent certain parties from thwarting the electoral process by preventing voters to exercise their democratic right to vote. "There is a possibility of certain actions by certain quarters that could give rise to chaos and there is a likelihood that those who want to vote could not do so as their fingers were already stained with ink. "As such, this sort of victimisation should not be allowed," he told reporters after meeting leaders of the Kelantan Umno Liaison Body Tuesday night.

Among those who attended were the head of the body, Datuk Seri Annuar Musa, and his deputy, Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, as well as a number of Kelantan BN candidates for the general election. The Prime Minister said he had also read a report prepared by various authorities in connection with the possibility of some groups wanting to thwart or sabotage the general election, especially in Kelantan, by bringing in the indelible ink. Abdullah, who is also the Internal Security, said that in facing that possibility, it was therefore appropriate for the EC to protect its integrity. "What is more important is that the rights of the people who had registered to vote must be upheld. "That must be the guarantee from the EC to all citizens and voters on March 8," he said.

ABOVE & BELOW: PM Abdullah has ordered EC to meet Opposition parties to explain the situation

Abdullah denied that the EC's move was as a result of instructions from him or Barisan Nasional (BN)."This was not our (BN's) work. This was a decision by the EC," he said. Abdullah said the EC should now invite representatives from all political parties and explain to them in detail why it called off the use of indelible ink in the general election. "I have informed Datuk Radzi (BN Secretary-General Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad) to get detailed explanations from the EC," he said.

In Putrajaya today, EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman announced the cancellation of its earlier decision to use indelible ink on voters in the general election following advice from the legal point of view and public safety. Abdul Rashid said investigations following a report to the police had confirmed that irresponsible groups had bought the ink from abroad to persuade and bribe those who were not so sure about the use of the ink by smearing ink on their fingers even before they voted. "The EC is extremely disappointed over the decision. But we need to make a firm and final decision to ensure our obligation and responsibility towards a smooth election process as well as public safety," he said.

= == = ==Scrapped Indelible Ink

The reason is given that it is for "public security & order". And the “bogus fear” tactic reared its ugly head in the face of a possible defeat of many seats for the Government. This last minute reversal of the use of the indelible ink would ensure the hanky panky can go once again so that the Government might not collapse and "public security & order" can thus be maintained. The announcement was made in the presence of the IGP & the AG. The EC has opted for the cheaper RM 1 million option to purchase this ink instead of the more expensive RM30 million biometric system working off the MyKad. It showed great fanfare in announcing its use and stated the Elections now would be fairer.

The immediate reactions of the Opposition parties were united in their indignant over the sudden decision by the Election Commission to cancel the use of the indelible ink. It is a clear proof of EC-BN collusion.

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March 04, 2008 23:27 PM EC Scraps Indelible Ink Plan

PUTRAJAYA, March 4 (Bernama) -- The Election Commission (EC) has scrapped the indelible ink plan for the March 8 general election following legal advice, its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said. He said that the decision made at a meeting today was also to ensure security and public order. "Police investigations reveal that there are irresponsible people who bought ink from foreign countries in order to persuade those not familiar with the procedure to have the ink applied (to a voter's forefinger or nail) before polling day," he told a press conference at the EC headquarters, here. "The EC is very disappointed. However, it has to make a firm and final decision to ensure a smooth polling process and for the sake of security and public order," he explained. Also present at the press conference were Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

Prior to this the EC had announced that it would use a special black ink from India to avoid cheating in the upcoming election. However, this would not apply to postal voters, who already had other declarations to determine the authenticity of their votes. The indelible ink plan, costing less than RM1 million, was to appease parties, who had pressured the EC to introduce certain procedures to prevent rigging in the voting process. Abdul Rashid said that the activity occurred especially in the rural and interior areas, and the aim was to create confusion and suspicion on the status of the voters concerned.

"They can be regarded as having casted their votes when they go to the voting centres on polling day. There are also possibilities that those who have been cheated will not go out to vote as they are afraid of being deemed as having committed an offence," he said. He said that if these voters presented themselves at the voting centres, it would result in a chaotic situation, which might be difficult to control as the candidates' agents and EC staff would get confused over the status of the voters. Abdul Rashid stressed that the voting process, security and public order could not be compromised. Abdul Rashid said that the plan was also scrapped because of the need to legislate a law allowing a voter whose nail or forefinger had been applied with the ink or one who refused, to be given the voting paper. He said that if the indelible ink was to be introduced it should not affect the rights of a voter to vote under the Federal Constitution unless he was no longer given this right under the law. Abdul Rashid said that the EC was not pressured by any political parties in making the decision and hoped that all the relevant parties would accept the decision.

"The EC wants to have this as part of the system, but it looks like circumstances do not permit, so be patient," he said. Abdul Rashid said despite allegations of cheating during a voting process, the EC has not received any evidence. "So, in order to convince these people, I have to meet their demand in a way that we are doing now, since other countries are doing, why not we," he said. Asked why the EC made the initial plan to use indelible ink, he said it was part of the commission's effort "because we were asked to do, whatever way we can in order to convince people that there is no cheating in the election." Commenting on other parties getting the ink, Abdul Rashid said: It is known to the whole world where to get this ink, even if we didn't tell them they would have known."

Meanwhile, Gani (ABOVE) when asked whether the indelible ink method could be used in future elections, said that the Federal Constitution needed to be amended first."The amendment can be made provided the government of the day agrees, and if parliament approves, and the Royal consent (is given), it will become law," he said.= == = = == = == = =

March 04, 2008 21:58 PM
Police Uncover Attempt To Create Confusion During Polls

PUTRAJAYA, March 4 (Bernama) -- Police have uncovered an attempt by some irresponsible people out to create a confusion during Saturday's elections by having voters dipped their fingers in indelible ink before the polling day. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan (ABOVE) said four individuals had lodged police reports alleging that there were people buying such ink from overseas and planning to persuade misinformed voters to use it before the polls. One report was received in Kelantan, one in Kedah and two in Perlis from Feb 16 to 21, and police had classified them as attempted cheating, he told reporters here today.

He said the allegation was found to be true but so far, no arrests had been made as the police were still identifying the people involved based on the statements recorded from by the complainants, aged between 30 and 50, who were traders and self-employed. Asked whether the complainants were from political parties, he said: "I don't know but they are locals." When asked how soon the case was expected to be solved, he said: "I am trying to get all the assistance on this. "We have interviewed the individuals. We want to know where they obtain the information." He said police were also trying to ascertain where the ink came from.

= = = == Statement from PKR
Dr Syed Husin Ali, Deputy President of Parti KeADILan Rakyat, issued this statement :

Withdrawal of use of Indelible Ink
With the decision of the Elections Commission (EC) to cancel the use of indelible ink, there is no need for further proof that the EC is colluding with Barisan Nasional (BN) to allow cheating in the coming General Elections.


ABOVE: Abdul Rasid making the U-Turn announcement in the use of Indelible

Despite all assurances and false gestures, it is now clear the Tan Sri Rashid is content to conduct the 12th General Elections in an atmosphere completely bereft of integrity. Citing 'public order' and 'security' is also nonsensical reasoning that is perfectly consistent with the language of forces around the world who seek to supress democratic freedoms.
BERSIH, which represents not just political parties but a wide swathe of civil society, has campaigned tirelessly for indelible ink to be used to battle the scourge of phantom voters. Candidates have observed irregularities in postal voting, and revealed hundreds and thousands of false addresses, dead individuals and voters over 100 years old in the electoral roll. The EC has ignored BERSIH's demands to address these problems and now the third of BERSIH's core demands has gone unfulfilled.
At a moment where the eyes of the entire world are upon us, the EC has now conclusively and irrevocably shown that any overtures towards reform that it had made previously were in bad faith, and that in decisive moments, the EC will yield to every demand of its political masters.
KeADILan notes one positive outcome of this development however. BN intelligence must clearly be showing a swing towards the Opposition, thus forcing them to resort once again to phantom voters and other forms of cheating to minimize the electoral losses they must clearly be anticipating. BN is clearly taking no chances. We are encouraged by this trend and call upon all Opposition sympathisers to strenghten their resolve and their efforts as we enter the final stretch of our campaign for a better
Malaysia.

Dr. Syed Husin Ali; KeADILan Deputy President

= = == == =, STAR has a more detailed explanation
Tuesday March 4, 2008; MYT 5:55:31 PM; STAR

EC cancels use of indelible ink; By RAPHAEL WONG

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission has cancelled the use of indelible ink in polling this Saturday, citing public order and security reasons. Its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said following a meeting held Tuesday, the EC was obliged to make a firm and final decision to ensure the smooth conduct of the 12th general election. He said provisions to the law needed if the ink was to be used still could not affect the constitutional right of a voter to cast his vote, even a person whose fingernail had been marked with indelible ink or one who refuses to have his or her fingernail marked this way. "From a practical point of view, the issuance of a ballot paper to such a voter would render the EC's proposal meaningless and will not bring about a positive result, whilst having the potential to create misunderstanding as well as altercations and arguments at polling stations," he said.

The Federal Constitution gives you the right to vote, and a black mark on your fingernail should not bar you from exercising this right, he said.Abdul Rashid said there were also reports made to the police confirming that certain irresponsible quarters had purchased indelible ink from abroad with the intention of creating confusion and suspicion as to the status of voters. "The EC views these issues seriously as the election process and public order and security cannot be compromised," he said.

The use of indelible ink was first proposed last June to safeguard against multiple or phantom voting. Abdul Rashid then said that the system would be subject to amendments to the Election (Conduct of Election) Regulation 1981.He said indelible ink had been chosen over other measures, such as a biometric system working off the MyKad (chip-based identity card carried by all Malaysians above the age of 12) because such such smartcard readers would have cost about RM60,000 each, and every voting stream would have to be equipped with one. Using such a system would have cost in excess of RM30mil. The commission bought about 47,000 bottles of the indelible ink, manufactured in India, for RM2mil.

= == = == ==March 04, 2008 17:10 PM

EC Scraps Indelible Ink PlanPUTRAJAYA, March 4 (Bernama) -- The Election Commission Tuesday cancelled plan to use indelible ink in the upcoming general election.

= == = ==Watch the Video Clip - The Fear, the Confusion and the Constitution Amendment

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being compiled & edited and loading later

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MORE PICS - Police & Army “Postal Doubles” detected in issuance of postal Ballots; Postal Voting on but No secrecy; Ballot No can be traced to Voters

Postal Voting For Armed Forces Personnel Begins

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 (Bernama) -- Postal voting for members of the armed forces began Wednesday to enable the forces' 111,591 registered voters to exercise their rights. Defence Forces Chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Zainal was the earliest to cast his vote at Wisma Pertahanan at Jalan Padang Tembak here. Abdul Aziz and wife, Puan Sri Rositah Md Nawi, arrived at 9am and cast their votes for the Setiawangsa parliamentary constituency. Others who also cast their postal votes were Air Force chief Tan Sri Azizan Arifin, Army chief Tan Sri Muhammad Ismail Jamaluddin and Navy chief Tan Sri Ramlan Mohamed Ali. The armed forces' election coordinating officer for Setiawangsa, Lt Col Hamdan Yaccob said the two-day postal voting would also take place in camps nationwide while those stationed obroad would be voting in their respective deployments. "At the Defence Ministry alone, there are 12,647 registered voters," he said.
The ballot papers would be handed over to the Election Commission on Friday. He said a total of 24,091 spouses of armed forces personnel were also eligible to cast postal votes in this election. The number of postal voters from the armed forces had increased by 15 per cent from the last general election in 2004, he added. Meanwhile Abdul Aziz said the voting process went on smootly. He hoped that all registered voters in the forces would exercise their rights. "Even though there is no law to make it compulsory for them to cast postal votes, it's their responsibilities to do so."
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March 04, 2008 21:58 PM
Police Uncover Attempt To Create Confusion During Polls

PUTRAJAYA, March 4 (Bernama) -- Police have uncovered an attempt by some irresponsible people out to create a confusion during Saturday's elections by having voters dipped their fingers in indelible ink before the polling day. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan (ABOVE) said four individuals had lodged police reports alleging that there were people buying such ink from overseas and planning to persuade misinformed voters to use it before the polls. One report was received in Kelantan, one in Kedah and two in Perlis from Feb 16 to 21, and police had classified them as attempted cheating, he told reporters here today.

He said the allegation was found to be true but so far, no arrests had been made as the police were still identifying the people involved based on the statements recorded from by the complainants, aged between 30 and 50, who were traders and self-employed. Asked whether the complainants were from political parties, he said: "I don't know but they are locals." When asked how soon the case was expected to be solved, he said: "I am trying to get all the assistance on this. "We have interviewed the individuals. We want to know where they obtain the information." He said police were also trying to ascertain where the ink came from.

= == = ==Scrapped Indelible Ink

The reason is given that it is for "public security & order". And the “bogus fear” tactic reared its ugly head in the face of a possible defeat of many seats for the Government. This last minute reversal of the use of the indelible ink would ensure the hanky panky can go once again so that the Government might not collapse and "public security & order" can thus be maintained. The announcement was made in the presence of the IGP & the AG. The EC has opted for the cheaper RM 2 million option to purchase this ink instead of the more expensive RM30 million biometric system working off the MyKad. It showed great fanfare in announcing its use and stated the Elections now would be fairer.

The immediate reactions of the Opposition parties were united in their indignant over the sudden decision by the Election Commission to cancel the use of the indelible ink. It is a clear proof of EC-BN collusion

= = = == Statement from PKR
Dr Syed Husin Ali, Deputy President of Parti KeADILan Rakyat, issued this statement :

Withdrawal of use of Indelible Ink
With the decision of the Elections Commission (EC) to cancel the use of indelible ink, there is no need for further proof that the EC is colluding with Barisan Nasional (BN) to allow cheating in the coming General Elections.


ABOVE: Abdul Rasid making the U-Turn announcement in the use of Indelible Ink: BELOW: The Bogus fear tactic is used

Despite all assurances and false gestures, it is now clear the Tan Sri Rashid is content to conduct the 12th General Elections in an atmosphere completely bereft of integrity. Citing 'public order' and 'security' is also nonsensical reasoning that is perfectly consistent with the language of forces around the world who seek to supress democratic freedoms.
BERSIH, which represents not just political parties but a wide swathe of civil society, has campaigned tirelessly for indelible ink to be used to battle the scourge of phantom voters. Candidates have observed irregularities in postal voting, and revealed hundreds and thousands of false addresses, dead individuals and voters over 100 years old in the electoral roll. The EC has ignored BERSIH's demands to address these problems and now the third of BERSIH's core demands has gone unfulfilled.
At a moment where the eyes of the entire world are upon us, the EC has now conclusively and irrevocably shown that any overtures towards reform that it had made previously were in bad faith, and that in decisive moments, the EC will yield to every demand of its political masters.
KeADILan notes one positive outcome of this development however. BN intelligence must clearly be showing a swing towards the Opposition, thus forcing them to resort once again to phantom voters and other forms of cheating to minimize the electoral losses they must clearly be anticipating. BN is clearly taking no chances. We are encouraged by this trend and call upon all Opposition sympathisers to strenghten their resolve and their efforts as we enter the final stretch of our campaign for a better
Malaysia.

Dr. Syed Husin Ali; KeADILan Deputy President

= = == == =, STAR has a more detailed explanation
Tuesday March 4, 2008; MYT 5:55:31 PM; STAR

EC cancels use of indelible ink; By RAPHAEL WONG

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission has cancelled the use of indelible ink in polling this Saturday, citing public order and security reasons. Its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said following a meeting held Tuesday, the EC was obliged to make a firm and final decision to ensure the smooth conduct of the 12th general election. He said provisions to the law needed if the ink was to be used still could not affect the constitutional right of a voter to cast his vote, even a person whose fingernail had been marked with indelible ink or one who refuses to have his or her fingernail marked this way. "From a practical point of view, the issuance of a ballot paper to such a voter would render the EC's proposal meaningless and will not bring about a positive result, whilst having the potential to create misunderstanding as well as altercations and arguments at polling stations," he said.

The Federal Constitution gives you the right to vote, and a black mark on your fingernail should not bar you from exercising this right, he said.Abdul Rashid said there were also reports made to the police confirming that certain irresponsible quarters had purchased indelible ink from abroad with the intention of creating confusion and suspicion as to the status of voters. "The EC views these issues seriously as the election process and public order and security cannot be compromised," he said.

The use of indelible ink was first proposed last June to safeguard against multiple or phantom voting. Abdul Rashid then said that the system would be subject to amendments to the Election (Conduct of Election) Regulation 1981.He said indelible ink had been chosen over other measures, such as a biometric system working off the MyKad (chip-based identity card carried by all Malaysians above the age of 12) because such such smartcard readers would have cost about RM60,000 each, and every voting stream would have to be equipped with one. Using such a system would have cost in excess of RM30mil. The commission bought about 47,000 bottles of the indelible ink, manufactured in India, for RM2mil.

= == = == ==

March 04, 2008 17:10 PM
EC Scraps Indelible Ink PlanPUTRAJAYA, March 4 (Bernama) -- The Election Commission Tuesday cancelled plan to use indelible ink in the upcoming general election.

= == = = =Go H E R E New updates in new Post On

RM1 M Indelible 2008 Election Ink Scrapped; IGP: Confusion, Public Order & Security at Stake; AG: Amend Constitution First; Oppositions think Otherwise

== == = == == = = =Original post below

In Peninsula Malaysia, more than 6 postal cheats were exposed by PKR postal agents in Setiawanga, Kuala Lumpur with names & Identity numbers and over in East Malaysia, Sarawak the DAP assemblyman Wong Hon Leong, his wife and his election agents must be given credit in exposing the irregularities in the electoral roll in the Postal Voters during the issuance of the postal ballots to the army & police in Sarawak, From morning till 4pm they worked without break to detect manually 13 duplicate voters (given two sets of ballot postal papers) whereas the EC headquarters in Kuching (using Computers) can only detect 10 such voters. More are said to be found in the electoral roll in the Computers The SUPP & PKR representatives were invited but had no time and stayed for a short while and left. This expose would be embarrassing to EC chairman Abdul Rashid (BELOW) who had declared on Nov 20 2007

“I will resign; the Panel will also resign I think, they have to follow me. Cannot go onto the streets shouting slogans and so on, go to the kampong after kampong “ tipu orang” Yes you cannot prove but not outside but in Court. If the Judge said: 'Oh there is rigging here and Election Commission is responsible', I will resign
Check details on Previous Post H E R E

Of course the EC chairman would not resign and dismissed these as small mistakes made by the data entry staff and there is no intention of cheating or rigging an election. The response from the EC Secretary is appalling in the face of concrete evidence.

"They can make all kinds of allegations. Everyone can only have one ballot paper. If they have problems, they can check with the respective returning officers."

What can the returning officer do? Just cancel the” extra ballot paper”. But there might be other daring efforts coming like parachuting down hundreds of “postal votes” during a recount of a close fight. But who will be able to pinpoint such a deliberate cheating and provide evidence of doing so during a state of confusion. Then again if there is a will, there must be a way of doing it as Postal Votes constitutes 26% of the total Electrol Roll

= = == == == = == == =an Exercise in Transparency for postal voting - which can be traced
March 03, 2008 23:07 PM
IGP Among Earliest To Cast Postal Vote Today

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan is among the earliest policemen to cast postal votes for the March 8 general election. He casts his postal vote at the voting hall of the officers' mess in the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman

ABOVE & BELOW: The IGP - Police Chief leading the pack in a great show of Postal balloting

KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) -- Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan was today among the earliest policemen to cast postal votes for the March 8 general election. Arriving at 10.15am, he headed straight to the verification counter before casting his postal vote at the voting hall of the officers' mess in the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman. Musa is among 83,794 officers and men of the Royal Malaysian Police who are eligible to cast postal votes for two days, beginning at 8am today. Among senior police officers who also cast postal votes were Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Hussain Ismail and Management director Datuk Abdul Razak Bokhari. The voting hall was open at 8am, to enable 4,327 policemen to cast their postal votes. Musa said policemen stationed in the country could cast postal votes at stipulated centres like state police contingents or at district police headquarters. "Those stationed overseas as part of the United Nations peacekeeping forces like in Timor Leste, could cast their postal votes at the Malaysian high commission," he told reporters after he had cast his vote. Meanwhile, Musa said that over the past eight days of campaigning, the police began investigating 178 reports on minor fights or scuffles, and those linked to election posters.

ABOVE: Great show of Secrecy in voting (Mar 03 08) and BELOW: the Postal Sachets (which can parachute last minute into a recounting center as "delayed or lost in transit")

In KUCHING, police have given an assurance that security would be tight, especially in areas which have been identified as "hot", during the March 8 general election. Declining to name them, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Datuk Ismail Omar said there were only two or three such areas. "We can overcome these (two or three "hot" areas)," he told reporters after attending a briefing on Sarawak police preparations for the general election at the state police contingent today. Also present at the briefing was Sarawak Police Commissioner DCP Mohmad Salleh.On allegations that gangsters were making their presence felt duringcampaigning, Ismail urged the public to lodge police reports.

ABOVE & BELOW: The handling of the Postal Ballot Papers are exclusively by the Police & Army and anything goes in case of contingency plans

= == = == == = from Sarawak , a detailed DAP personal account from

Cheating in Postal Votes

Today, at the Resident’s Office, the Election Commission (EC) officers in Sibu issued postal votes to the police and army personnel, and in the course of supervising the issuance, we caught 13 postal voters who were entitled to vote twice, for their names were registered twice on the electoral roll. They were to be given 2 ballot papers each. But the story did not end here. We asked the EC officers to verify the duplicated voters by a computer. It had none. All the ballot papers for more than 2600 postal voters in the police and army were contained in the envelopes and placed on the table. My election agent and workers had to use naked eyes to pick up the duplicity! Credit to the EC workers in Sibu, they were very patient watching us do the checking, but is that the way to run an election?

ABOVE: The 13 "doubles" were just marked "Batal" - Canceled, BELOW: Wong overseeing his hardworking wife

From the morning till about 4p.m., my workers forgot their lunches and ploughed through the piles and piles of envelopes, looking for duplicated voters. My workers were not provided with lunch by the EC. The work to check for duplicity was supposed to be done by the EC as we were not supposed to even touch those envelopes. But we were told to do it. The EC officers just watched. In the course of doing so, Robert Lau’s son and his agent also came to the Resident’s Office. The agent checked and handled the envelopes also. After about 30 minutes they left. The PKR candidate Lim Chin Chuang also came. He took a look, and left. They all knew that with DAP going through the chores, things must be in good hands. We found 13 duplicate voters. But we thought that a computer check would have been faster and better. Just when we had done all that we could with our eyes, the EC HQ in Kuching faxed a list to the Returning Officer showing that in Sibu Parliamentary constituency, there were 10 duplicate voters. Why could not the EC expunge these duplicate voters?

ABOVE & BELOW: The DAP assemblyman closed scrutiny of the Postal Ballot papers issued. More is said to be found in the Computer database

Why had the EC to wait until they were caught with their pants down? Why could our naked eyes pick 13 yet the EC’s computer could only 10? The EC had to bluff even in the last minute, despite having been caught red handed. All the 13 envelopes containing duplicate voters were rejected. Of course, they could still vote with the remaining ballot. Such is the type of democracy in our country. Some are entitled to vote twice. The EC is caught sleeping, and even at the point where they were caught red handed, they were cheating us to say that the list was only 10. During the ceramah in the evening,

ABOVE & BELOW: Details of Names & Addresses you can check with SPR

I checked the list of postal voters generated by our own computer. There were more duplicate voters than 13. As my workers worked through the piles and piles of envelopes, the police officer in charge of the postal voting became very agitated. He accused me of delaying the process. He told me that his boss had already instructed the police to vote at 1:00 p.m. till 5 p.m. I asked him whether they must vote during those hours despite the fact that we had caught irregularity in the electoral roll. He said “yes”, without blinking an eye. I would never bulge to this sort of cheating in the electoral roll. The police should not endorse, knowing fully well that we had caught the duplicate voters both in the police force and the army. Instead of helping to ensure a cleaner voting system, the police inspector was visibly upset. He accused me that it was because of what we were doing that the police could not vote today. So what? Just because you are the police? Why the rush? You guys can vote until 5p.m. on 8th March, 2008. Why do you have to rush?
ABOVE & BELOW: Details of Names & Addresses you can check with SPR

The Major from the army camp also insisted to bring home the postal votes to his camps today. But after my explanation, he agreed that it could be postponed. He was clearly a nicer man than the police officer in charge. To set the record straight, the police would vote on 4th March and the arm forces personnel would vote on 6th March, said the EC. So, why the rush? Beware! There are cheats in the electoral rolls for postal voting. Some voters registered twice under slightly different names. Registering their names using “Ak” and also “Anak”, or “B” and “Bin” makes them him entitled to 2 votes. Using the police number or Tenetra number to register, then also using their IC to register will also entitle them to 2 votes. Who has allowed this? The EC.1/3/2008
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Names of possible phantom voters released
By Jeremy Au Yong. THE STRAITS TIMES, Mar 03 08

BERSIH, a non-governmental group pushing for electoral reforms, yesterday released a list of eight names and IC numbers of people they say could end up voting twice in Saturday's polls. The group has accused the Election Commission (EC) of unfair practices in the handling of postal votes from military and police personnel. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) information chief Tian Chua, speaking on behalf of the coalition of opposition parties and NGOs, reiterated Bersih's demand for postal votes to be abolished. He said polling agents for PKR's candidate in Setiawangsa, Kuala Lumpur, had produced the names and IC numbers of six people who are said to have been given two postal ballots each. He said it could mean these six could each vote twice in the constituency, where postal votes already account for 26 per cent of the electorate.

The other two names on the list have come from Bersih official Faisal Mustaffa, who produced two printouts of searches from the EC website showing people with identical names and birth years, but voting in different districts with different IC numbers. One used a civilian IC, the other a military one. Bersih also noted that the ballot number of the postal vote could be traced to a form bearing the voter's name, making it easy to determine who the police or military officer voted for. Separately, opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) claims it has discovered irregularities in the electorate roll involving the use of military IC numbers. While civilians have an IC number that is just a series of 12 digits, the IC numbers of soldiers start with the letter 'T'.
PAS vice-president Husam Musa told reporters yesterday that the new tactic was to register an extra voter by just dropping the letter 'T'. Postal votes and phantom voters have long been a sticking point for the opposition. The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition has said such accusations are just excuses for losing as the matter is not brought up when the opposing party wins.
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Postal vote irregularities continue to bug process

Monday, 03 March 2008, theSUN
PETALING JAYA (
March 2, 2008): Allegations of irregularities in the electoral process continue to haunt the 12th general election this Saturday (March 8).
Election watchdog Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) pointed out that there were alleged breach of anonymity and secrecy, open opportunities for proxy voting and multiple registration in the observation of the issuance of postal ballots in the Setiawangsa parliamentary seat where postal voters form 26% of the electorate. In a press conference today,

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) information chief Tian Chua, who is a Bersih member, said one of the flaws found was the “Postal Voters Kit” which include Form 2 “Identity Declaration Form” which contains the name of the military or police personnel and the ballot serial number of the ballot paper. “As Form 2 will be put in the envelopes together with the ballot papers to be returned for counting, it is a real concern on the part of the military and police voters that their choices will be known and that they may face retribution if they vote opposition,” he said. Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor when contacted explained that the number on the counterfoil was the ballot number and not the serial number in the electoral list. "It's just like a cheque book which has numbers on both sides. We stopped taking down the serial number on the ballot paper since the 2006 Sarawak state election," he said.


ABOVE & BELOW: another irregularity detected: Same Identity No but belongs to a Chinese & Indian

On the allegation of multiple registration, he said: "They can make all kinds of allegations. Everyone can only have one ballot paper. If they have problems, they can check with the respective returning officers." Chua said since military and police personnel need not cast their ballots at the normal polling stations on Saturday, "this creates the possibility for a third party to mark the ballot paper on their behalf". "Party agents have also found that at least six voters in Setiawangsa have been issued with two ballot papers," he said. On Saturday, the postal balloting for the army and police personnel in the Sibu parliamentary seat had to be postponed due to the discovery of a double registration of postal voters in the electoral roll. Setiawangsa PKR candidate Ibrahim Yaacob said he would file a formal protest to the EC later today.
He lamented that the party agent who was observing the issuance of the postal votes was not given the electoral roll in order to double check the names.
In the 2004 general election, Fedaral Territories Minister Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique won the seat with a majority of 19,669 votes against PAS’ Abdul Rashid Hassan Basri. The constituency comprises 52.4% Malays, 36.2% Chinese and 10.1% Indians. – theSun
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Malaysian oppn accuse govt of postal vote fraud

Monday, 03 March 2008
Malaysia's former deputy prime minister and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim accused the government of perpetuating postal vote fraud as citizens prepare to cast their ballots on March 8. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government, which has led the country since indepen-dence, is expected to win the poll but lose more seats amid protests and rising prices. However, reports of voting irregularities have cast doubt on whether the upcoming polls will be fair. "(We) are profoundly disappointed, though not surprised, by the latest evidence of postal voting fraud likely to be perpetuated during the upcoming elections," Mr Anwar told AFP.
"The untransparent process of postal votes will result in seats won by opposition candidates being stolen by the ruling coalition in a blatantly fraudulent manner," he added. Postal voting is presently restricted to military troops, policemen and teachers who are based far away from their constituencies. Mr Anwar's comments come as his party colleague Ibrahim Yaacob, who is a candidate for a parliamentary seat in the capital, gave reporters the names of postal voters they say were issued with two ballot sheets. "I was there when the Election Commission was packing voter kits for postal votes on Saturday and we spotted at least six people with the same identification card number having two ballots each," Mr Yaacob said. "This is voting fraud as each postal voter should have only one vote," he added. -AFP

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