SEREMBAN, Malaysia - Ng Yuen Chan has occupied the same Malaysian
home for 20 years, so the ethnic Chinese retiree was surprised to learn
recently that he had two ethnic Indian women as roommates.
They were phantom voters registered at his home in Seremban, capital of
Negeri Sembilan, a key political battleground state and one of many such cases
fueling fear of possible fraud in coming elections in the multi-racial country.
"The government should take action. These people don't exist
here," Ng said angrily.
Opposition election workers and independent vote-reform advocates say a
rash of irregularities could tip the balance in what may be a tight contest
between the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and an upstart opposition.
Campaigners warn that if the government does not address the issue,
they could take to the streets again as they did in a protest by tens of
thousands last year that was crushed by police.
"I certainly think the playing field is still very skewed. It
could cost the opposition the win," said Ambiga Sreenivasan, co-chair of
electoral reform group Bersih 2.0.
"If they (the government) don't commit to reform before the...
election, there will be a Bersih 3.0 rally."
Bersih 2.0 and other critics allege the coalition, despite promising
reform, is illegally registering non-resident supporters in shaky
constituencies or those held by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's three-party
alliance.
In one case near Ng's house, more than 60 people were registered living
in two apartment blocks that do not even exist, say opposition activists who
have been scouring quarterly voter rolls compiled by the Election Commission.
The government denies a fraud campaign, and the commission says it is
cleaning voter rolls.
Late last year it purged more than 40,000 names that could not be
accounted for, but the revelation only added to fears of widespread
irregularities.
The commission also recently fired hundreds of staff after it was found
they were responsible for registering voters twice, adding non-citizens, and
other "negligence," government-controlled media reported.
Anthony Loke, an opposition parliamentarian representing Ng's district,
said a report by a government-appointed organisation found some 80,000 people
were registered in just over 300 addresses, among other discrepancies.
"The most fundamental issue is the electoral roll. It must be
cleaned up," he said. "If they don't clean up the roll, other changes
are not as significant."
Bersih 2.0 and opposition parties led a rally in Kuala Lumpur last July
to demand clean elections - "Bersih" means clean - and were met by
tear gas and water cannon. Some 1,600 people were arrested.
The rally gave voice to widespread suspicions documented in many cases
over the years that the ruling coalition has routinely used fraud, vote-buying
and a stranglehold on traditional media to stay in power.
Stung by condemnation over the rally crackdown, Prime Minister Najib
Razak set up a bi-partisan parliamentary panel in October to study possible
reforms. A final report is due in April.
An interim report suggested measures including introducing indelible
ink to prevent multiple voting, which the Election Commission has pledged to
do.
"The main (recommendations) are all accepted and done already. Now
we are busy doing the preparations," commission deputy chairman Wan Ahmad
Wan Omar told AFP.
But critics accuse the government of dragging its feet on far-reaching
reform and ignoring calls to halt abuses like alleged vote-buying and
preventing fair access to media.
Concern has sharpened recently amid heavy speculation that the polls -
due by next April - could be called within months.
"You can't expect BN to implement (all the) reforms for a system
that has benefitted them for years," said Loke, also a member of the
parliamentary reform panel.
In 2008, Anwar's three-party opposition alliance snatched away the BN's
long-held two-thirds parliamentary majority and now holds four of Malaysia's 13
states, its highest ever number.
Bersih 2.0 has calculated the Barisan Nasional coalition won a
parliamentary majority by only 27,000 votes.
Leading polling firm Merdeka Centre, along with another institute that
monitors the electoral process, will launch a new report on such irregularities
Friday.
Ibrahim Suffian, head of the centre, said its research has found an
"abnormal increase of voters" in closely contested constituencies.
"So it would affect the outcome of the election" in some
areas, he said.
AFP
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