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Extracted from Malaysiakini
Poll
watchdog: Focus on corruption, money politics
Apr
25,
Independent election watchdog Malaysians for Free and Fair
Elections (Mafrel) will be on the lookout for incidents of money politics and
corruption during the
Chairperson Abdul
“The free T-shirts, mineral water, posters and flags... basically
looking at the volume of these items in circulation, we would know whether the
respective parties are keeping to the RM100,000 ceiling stipulated in election
law. All that will be in our (final) report,” he said, when met at a recent
Mafrel workshop on the
Based on Mafrel’s experience in observing previous election exercises in
“It is an open secret that money politics and
corruption have been rampant in past elections. If we have evidence to support
these claims, it will be in our report.”
Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud dissolved the
state assembly yesterday to pave the way for the ninth state election, about
seven months ahead of the expiry of the five-year term.
The Election Commission has set May 9 as the nomination day and May 20 for
polling. The election will see 71 seats up for contest, nine more than in the
last election in 2001.
Corrupt practice ‘rampant’
At the workshop, Mark Bujang of the Borneo Resources Institute Sarawak (Brimas)
said money is likely to be used as a weapon.
“Whatever training or awareness we give the people, when it comes to the crunch
during election, (the inducements are) either in cash or in kind. For example,
the Iban love to drink, so we see truckloads of beer or liquor... for the
Chinese (Malaysians), it is business opportunities, so there are promises of
contracts and projects.” he claimed.
He said the latest gimmick is the automatic renewal of land lease, with
political leaders capitalising on the concerns of Chinese Malaysians whose
leases are due to expire.
“Although there is no amendment in the National Land Code or other land-related
laws, some claim that the lease can be renewed automatically when it expires -
but this is very doubtful,” he said.
Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM)
"If you look at the
He said corrupt practice is rampant but that the majority of the people tend to
overlook it.
“The Malays in
He however hoped that the situation would improve. For this reason, JIM
Sarawak, Brimas and Sarawak Election Watch have volunteered to assist Mafrel.
“I believe that if we consistently educate the people on their rights as
voters, we will eventually leave this rut in which we live,” he said.
Selected constituencies
Elaborating today on Mafrel’s preparations, Abdul Malek said eight trained
observers will conduct the field work. They tasks will include training local
volunteers to assist during the 11-day campaign period and on polling day.
“We are leaving for
Abdul Malek will head the Kuching team, while
Mafrel officer Ahmad Shauqi Abdul Ghani will lead the observers in Miri. Social
activist Ong Boon Keong (photo)
of the Malaysian Voters Union - a Mafrel partner - will be in charge of the
Miri office.
Due to limited resources, Mafrel will have to be selective in choosing the
constituencies to monitor.
“We will observe the urban constituencies. We have also chosen seats where we
foresee a critical contest that may be decided by a narrow margin, but will not
leave out any of the political parties and ethnic groups involved,” he said.
He also said he did not anticipate smooth sailing and that he was aware of the
challenges.
“One problem will be the logistics, which may hinder our movement. Another is
that political parties and candidates could misunderstand our independent role.
“Many tend to believe that we are pro-opposition, which is untrue. If any of
the opposition parties breach election laws, it will be in our report.”
Mafrel further expects to face “harassment” from the state authorities.
“There are powerful people who can stop us from even entering the state. But I
hope this will not happen. Our mission is not to help anyone win the election,
we merely want to see that it is conducted fairly.”
Asked if Mafrel observers will get EC approval
for independent observer status, Malek said this was highly unlikely.
“The commission has repeatedly refused to welcome any independent observers,
even though this goes against international practice. The EC has said there is
no need for observers because the voting system is ‘faultless’.
“This is a misconception on their part. An election process is not only about
the process of casting vote and counting these. It goes beyond that. This time,
there is an 11-day campaign period. Many things could happen.”
Mafrel was formed in October 2003 by a group of civil society activists, in
order to observe the 11th general election which was held in March 2004.
It has taken part in international election observation missions in