By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 29, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Putrajaya has rejected Lim Kit Siang’s call to form a bipartisan commission to oversee the next general election, saying the Election Commission (EC) was capable enough of doing the job.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat today that the EC was an independent body despite criticisms by the opposition, pointing out that the body had already successfully run 12 general elections and a total of 184 by-elections as of last year.
“The government does not plan to form another commission to ensure the coming polls are clean.
“This is because the EC already exists as an independent commission with integrity… its responsibility to conduct polls, whether general election or by-elections, has been carried out well and the governments formed so far after each poll are legitimate governments.
“Including when YB Bagan (the DAP’s Lim Guan Eng) became the chief minister (of Penang)… that was also a legitimate government,” he said.
But a dissatisfied Lim, who is the DAP’s parliamentary leader, stood up to refute Nazri’s claim, insisting that if the EC was truly free from political manipulation and the country’s election process had always been clean and fair, the opposition would have won in past polls.
“YB (Nazri) mentioned the results of the 12th general election. If the system was fair, perhaps Barisan Nasional (BN) would have already fallen, the government changed.
“Is the prime minister or the government ready to announce that, in line with the (PM’s) announcement that Malaysia will be the best democracy in the world, that the BN government will accept whatever decision in the coming polls?” he asked, amid heckles and shouts from BN backbenchers and former PKR MP N. Gobalakrishnan.
Nazri berated Lim for his “simplistic” assumption, pointing out that in Election 2008, the opposition had successfully trounced BN in five states.
“This is children speak. So the five states that the opposition won — that was free and fair. But the others than BN won — that was not?,” he told the House.
He was responding to Lim’s suggestion made earlier during his debate on the royal address that a bipartisan panel comprising members from both BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) be formed to ensure the coming 13th general election is free and fair.
Nazri also reminded the House today that Parliament had formed the select committee (PSC) to look into electoral reforms, saying that the panel was due to table its final report next Monday.
He noted that the bipartisan nine-man panel, which includes three PR members, has already included in its discussions key issues such as suggestions to revamp the postal voting process and clean up the electoral roll.
The Malaysian Insider reported yesterday that the PSC had concluded its final round of discussions in a stand-off between members across the political divide.
According to a panel source, of the 22 issues included in the report, BN and PR members had disagreed on seven key issues, including calls to clean up the electoral roll.
EU mulls observer group as EC ‘not credible’, say diplomats
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/eu-mulls-observer-group-as-ec-not-credible-say-diplomats
“They are not credible. Abdul Aziz kept repeating ‘us’ and ‘we in the government’ during the briefing,” a European diplomat told The Malaysian Insider……
Nazri,if EC is fair and independant,then why formed PSC in the first place? Why not you then reasoned the same excuse(EC is independant la and then fair lor) as to why bipartisan commision cannot be formed to oversee Election Commission(EC) and capable of doing the job!
Obviously do not want PR to be involved. If PR involved then how can BN & EC cheat? Bodoh!
Like Myanmar, M’sia should hv a team of international observers monitoring d next GE, which is going 2 b d dirtiest GE
If UMNO b has nothing to hide….why reject LKS’s goods suggestion?
Nazri also said…no case against AG…when few have come out to be witnesses against the AG.
Nazri knows what he said are going to anger Malaysians….but he does not care.
Protecting UMNO b crooked deals is his job.
Here we go again! Nazri is doing his NAZI on the rakyat yet once more.
Such unilateral, autocratic and high handed style of dismissing and denying basic democratic processes to ensure clean, fair and transparent elections just demonstrate that UMNO/BN is prepared to go against the rakyat at all costs.
Who is Nazri to singlehandedly and arbitrarily extinguish the demands of Malaysians for a bipartisan commission for GE13? Does Nazri really think that the flagrant disregard of rules of natural justice will score BN a point more to win their desperate & oh-so-pathetic attempt to cling on to power, notwithstanding resonating voices of Malaysians for BN to move aside?
BN oh BN, you have lost all flavour and substance and integrity and ethics to even be associated with the term People’s Elect. You have lost all essence in governing a country well. You have lost it all. Malaysians have awoken. This is no longer your era.
Malaysians wholeheartedly mandate the hope and promise of change that is to come. A mandate so forceful that will show UMNO BN the door together with all its legacies of corruption and chronic cronyism and complete failures of discharging the mandate of the rakyat.
UMNO BN R.I.P. – PR Welcome on Board.