SNEAK AMENDMENT TO LEGALISE PHANTOM VOTERS?
(Urgent Message for Voters in Likas)
20.07.2001
There appears to be a sneak attempt by the Prime Minister, with collusion from
the press, to make a major amendment to the Constitution affecting vital
citizenship right without attracting public attention. Among other
implications, this amendment will place phantom voters beyond the reach of law,
many tens of thousands of them consisting of illegal Philippine and Indonesian
immigrants are now concentrated in Sabah.
Following the solitary revelation by the Sun yesterday (19th July) on imminent
amendment to the Federal Constitution (Article 119) to make a gazetted electoral
roll beyond judicial challenge, there is a black out of news on the subject
proper of this issue in the press today.
The few newspapers that touch on the subject of constitutional amendment to
voter registration today have completely omitted the mention of the most
important part of the amendment, which is that a electoral roll, once gazetted,
is beyond the jurisdiction of the court. Instead, they carry misleading
statements from Mahathir, which have the effect of hiding the truth from the
public. Mahathir was quoted as saying:
¡§The amendments are only routine and nothing radical. Currently, there
are too many questions and uncertainties. The amendments will make voter
registration more definitive.¡¨
Mahathir also stated that the main thrust of the amendments was to allow voter
registration to take place all year round.
And so, by focusing attention on the new rule of year round registration, and
with the complicity of the press to cover up the vital part of the amendment,
Mahathir hopes to ram through the amendment without much ado.
Not a word was mentioned on the all important issue of whether it is right and
constitutional to bar judicial review over the legality of an electoral roll, or
whether there is the slightest justification to make the authority of the
Election Commission in accepting voters so sacrosanct that it is above the law
of the country.
There is no doubt that the journalists in this Country have sufficient
intelligence to recognize the most important element of these amendments and the
great significance it bears on the spirit of our Constitution and the principles
of democracy. Then why all the silence, or beating around the bush to
mislead and deceive the public? If this is not collusion (whether
voluntary or involuntary) with the ruling power to sabotage our Constitution and
democracy, then what is? This is a classic example of the degraded state
that the local press has found itself in, after decades of corrupt autocratic
rule, where the local newspapers are either voluntarily sycophantic or
browbeaten to play servile roles.
Back to the issue. Should the Election Commission be given such absolute
power, beyond judicial review? The answer would be a resounding no, even
in an advanced democracy, where the election commission is truly independent and
its integrity beyond reproach. This is because such an idea is simply
incompatible with the concept of democracy and the rule of law. No
executive decision should be above the law, least of all one concerning the
paramount constitutional right in a democracy ¡V the right to choose a
government. Besides, there is no conceivable justification for it.
In the context of Malaysia, where the rule of law is dubious, and its Election
Commission riddled with scandals, the proposal to so empower the Election
Commission can only be construed in the poorest of light. It is nothing
less than a naked attempt, among other implications, to legalise the tens of
thousands of phantom voters in Sabah, found in a recent court judgment to be
¡§only the tip of the iceberg¡¨.
The Election Commission¡¦s miserable track record of complete subservience to
the wishes of the ruling party, combined with the ruling party¡¦s notoriety in
perpetuating election abuses and frauds, makes the prospect too dreadful to
contemplate, should the Election Commission (EC) be entrusted with such absolute
authority. Where can Malaysians look for redress when the EC stuffs the
electoral roll with phantoms like what it has so successfully done in Sabah?
Will there be any more meaning left in our election process, when phantom voters
often become the arbiters in tightly fought elections, keeping in mind that our
elections are already stripped of their democratic meanings due to ruling party¡¦s
heavy abuses of government institutions and resources and mass media to work
exclusively in its favour, not to mention the habitual frauds?
Mahathir has used the excuse of current ¡§questions and uncertainties¡¨ in
the electoral roll to justify his proposed amendment. But such excuse is
self-defeatist. It is precisely due to the lack of an efficient review
mechanism that the phantom voter scourge has crept into the electoral roll,
thereby causing ¡§questions and uncertainties¡¨ referred to by Mahathir.
Hence, by removing judicial review (which is the ultimate review) as proposed by
Mahathir, EC¡¦s already weak review mechanism will be fatally weakened.
It is like pouring oil to extinguish a fire.
The problem with our EC is that it lacks independence, integrity and efficiency.
It is too eager to play fiddle to the ruling power UMNO, which unfortunately was
found in a recent court judgment to have played a significant role in the
massive phantom voter scam in Sabah.
In the recent Judgment nullifying the Likas election, Justice Muhammad Kamil has
given detailed evidence, outlining the frightening scenario of what a ruthless
government hell bent to gain political power can do to undermine the country¡¦s
own sovereignty. Massive campaigns have been carried out to register
illegal immigrants as voters for the sole purpose of bolstering the ruling party¡¦s
electoral strength. In the process of doing so, the integrity of
government institutions such as the Election Commission, National Registration
Department and the police are destroyed in order to accommodate these illegal
exercises. Official objections to tens of thousands of phantom voters have
been ruthlessly brushed aside with impunity, in clear contravention of the
election laws. Needless to say, Sabahans are now facing looming threats to
their security and democratic rights from the formidable presence of these
illegal immigrants, now posing as citizens and voters, thanks to UMNO¡¦s
lawlessness and callous disregard to the people¡¦s welfare.
In the light of these circumstances, is it not suicidal to our democracy by
allowing such an amendment to our Constitution whereby the unbridled authority
of the Election Commission becomes comparable to the unbridled power of the
police under the abominable Internal Security Act?
Kim Quek.
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