YOURSAY ‘We are all stakeholders - BN, opposition, social interest groups and sundry. Why wasn't any or all the stakeholders consulted?'

Bersih, opposition spun our Bill out, decries EC

Cannon: Election Commission, don't be too clever for your own good. Next time before attempting to change anything, have the decency to consult the stakeholders; and do it in a transparent manner allowing for public feedback and debate.

There's nothing more suspicious than to do your work in a dark corner and have the Parliament rush through the legislation in the dead of night.

Anonymous #02382443: Look who is talking? If the bill proposed by EC can stand the daylight, why push the bill through in a hush-hush manner?

We are all stakeholders - BN, opposition, social interest groups and sundry. Why wasn't any or all the stakeholders consulted. Since when did the EC got absolute powers to make changes as and when, and what, it pleases?

Anonymous #88568176: How ridiculous can EC deputy chief Wan Ahmad Wan Omar be? The amendments to the Election Offences Act had sought:

1) To provide privacy for EC inside the polling booth so that they are at liberty to cheat at will, not observed by anyone.

2) Complete freedom for Umno bloggers and paid henchmen to plaster the country with sacrilegious ‘fitnah' charges and obscenities in both visuals and print without having to worry about the law.

The police will say they can't act and this is what Umno wants.

What is there to spin, EC? Malaysians are not so stupid as not to know what the Umno agenda has been since the 2008 election.

The amendments were a perfect example of EC doing Umno's bidding. Period.

2Lang: He does not want polling agents of opposition in the polling station so that they can steal the election without any witness. Since when has there been problems caused by such agents? I have been one before and this was to ensure that voter's particulars are accurate.

Rakyat 3 BN 0: I really don't get it. Maybe I'm not smart enough, but after reading this article five or six times, I still don't understand why Wan Ahmad is against the withdrawal of the bill.
Wan Ahmad was complaining about banners without printing details if we withdraw the bill. However, removing the bill effectively enforces the requirement to have your details on all printed material.

Does he even know what he is complaining about? Is he from ‘Planet Terbalik'?

Unspin: Wan Ahmad, since you cannot differentiate between a spin and a fact, let me give you a few illustrations:

1) When someone pointed out that there were hundreds of voters registered under the same address, he/she was merely stating a fact.

When you said that the voters were registered under localities instead of addresses, that is called a spin.

2) When someone pointed out that there were many aliens who were given instant citizenship or blue myKads with expiry dates on them, that is a fact.

When you said that the discrepancies were caused by NRD (National Registration Department) database and computer system, that is called a spin.

3) When someone pointed out that the Election Offences Amendment Bill was suspect because it was rushed through Parliament at an unearthly hour without much debate, that is a fact.

When you came out swinging and blamed Bersih and the opposition for spinning and lying, that is the mother of all spins.

Paul Warren: The EC deputy chairperson talks utter nonsense. He obviously does not know what credibility and integrity means.

As Minister in the PM's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz put it, the government trusted the EC to put forward useful and improved changes. Instead, as it would seem, government feels played out by the EC.

Now their trust in the EC may even be suspect. Well, so says Nazri. Why? Simple. Its chairperson is an Umno member. This man, Wan Ahmad, is a suspected member.

The point is, while the focus was on electoral roll and other aspects of the election process, these two sneaked in changes that were at the very heart of conducting an election that few will say is clean and fair and the results have integrity.

BlueApple: Wan Ahmad is not in the position to publicly comment on the Bill. He and the EC are not the lawmakers. He acted like a politician although he denied that he himself is an Umno member.

Hello: Instead of accusing the opposition of spinning and lying, the EC deputy chief should focus on fulfilling his responsibility to the voters of this country.

In the first place, Bersih is not an opposition creation; it sprang from the hearts of the people who are concerned about clean and fair elections. And it behoves the EC to be clean, fair and impartial.

The amendments were neither fair nor impartial and were concocted by the EC with the hidden agenda of getting Umno-BN to win.

Msiakini4all: The deputy chairperson asked, "What else do you want?" We want you and the other knuckleheads to step down... now!

Quigonbond: Wan Ahmad is increasingly becoming more strident as he manoeuvres to become the new flag-bearer of BN's abuse of the system and attack dog for BN.

I recall that previous personalities falling into this category have had their comeuppance, therefore this deputy EC chief may want to rethink if it's all worth the benefits in kind he's getting.

What EC has been doing so far is to give half-baked answers to the various issues raised by Bersih on the tainted electoral roll, and its lack of will to enforce election laws.

There is every justification why Bersih supporters, and Malaysians in general, continue to push for the resignation of the entire commission so that an impartial and professional commission can rise in its place.

If I were him, in such a compromised position, I would take the high ground and tender my resignation pronto because as the pressure piles, he may just be unceremoniously dismissed to save BN's hide.

It is most appalling that Wan Ahmad's justification for not having publisher's name printed is not because of some moral high ground, but because it will be a "pain" for the enforcement agencies.

If enforcement is painful, we might as well not have many of the laws at all, since in Malaysia, we're over-regulated on paper and severely under-regulated in real life to the extent that people can basically do anything as long as the authorities don't catch you.

People have lost respect for rule of law because the rules themselves have never gained legitimacy in the first way. And if you think about it, that's because people are skeptical whether the majority parliamentarians who voted for those laws have actually won the elections in the first place.

Wan Ahmad should appreciate that it would not have been such a pain if the laws are really legitimate. And that's why we need free and fair elections.

Fair Play: Like the Kuala Lumpur mayor, this man forgot that he is just a custodian.

Gerard Lourdesamy: Jasa is the propaganda arm of the Umno-BN government. It is clearly partisan under the disguise of explaining government policies but in reality its function is to brainwash rural and semi-rural voters to continue to vote for the ruling coalition.

Why is the EC deputy chief addressing such a function? This shows that he is clearly biased.

The proposed amendments would have only encouraged fraud since polling and counting agents can be effectively barred by the EC on spurious grounds or their access severely restricted.

Why does Wan Ahmad always advocate the worst and not best practices for a clean, transparent and fair voting system?

If your heart and mind is with Umno, just quit the EC and stand as a candidate in GE13. Wan Ahmad is a disgrace and is not fit to serve on the EC.

Telestai!: Such childish and amatuerish diatribe by someone holding a high office in the EC is embarrassing. He claims to be independent but his words and actions betray him. Instead of engaging his detractors, he launches attacks after attacks.

He even talks like a paid lackey of Umno. What a disgrace.

TruthSansBorders: Umno says "Jump", and he asks "How high?"

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