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First challenge the results, polls reforms can wait
Published:  May 9, 2013 11:28 AM
Updated: 11:40 AM

YOURSAY 'Reforming the system? If I may so kind as to ask, how? It is already a common knowledge that Umno is hell-bent on cheating.'

Accept GE13 result despite flaws, says Ideas chief

your say Harapanbaru: Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) CEO Wan Saiful Wan Jan running, while I appreciate that you are among the handful of intelligent Malays who grew up under the shadow of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad who somehow managed to remain decent and independent minded, your advice smacks of feudal fear.

So we must accept that PM Najib Abdul Razak's bodyguards abducted, tortured and executed a Mongolian woman just for a lark; Teoh Beng Hock cracked under MACC torture and leaped to his death; A Kugan caught a cold in police lock-up and died of bronchial pneumonia; former finance minister Daim Zainuddin and Mahathir are struggling to get by on their meagre salaries as public servants; Sarawak chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud destroyed Sarawak's rainforests for the sake of the indigenous people so they would be forced to embrace modernity; and Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor deserves to be crowned Queen of Putrajaya.

Talk about bending reality and truth beyond recognition. Only somebody subject to dark sorcery - who has effectively been pukau -ed - could possibly say something so patently wrong.

Quigonbond: Wan Saiful, here's to answer where we would go if we don't accept the results. Legally, Najib is already the PM. We have to accept this legal reality.

Morally, legitimacy wise, that's a separate question. Where we go from there is that we need time to gather evidence. And from there, we mount court challenges.

By that time, it is up to the probative value of the evidence, and the integrity of the judges to decide what may come.

If it does come to a time where more than 22 parliamentary seats under BN is ordered to be recontested, we could yet see a change of government.

But if not, then yes, let's focus our energy on reforming the system starting with the Information Ministry, Home Ministry, in particular the National Registration Department, and the EC for permitting widespread vote-buying to take place.

There may be more Bersih rallies, but what Malaysians won't do is to launch a Tahrir square protest movement in Egypt. It's just isn't our style.

Blogsmith: Wan Saiful, you ask where do we go from there. I say we first overhaul the electoral process including cleaning up the electoral roll and stop the mainstream media from being so biased and unfair.

When we can have a really free and fair election, then let's go for re-election.

Rku020: How can one accept a result that is illegally obtained? The counting agents should be allowed to recount all seats which according to Form 14 were won by Pakatan but on recount won by BN.

A tally should be done for the total number of votes. How can the count increase by hundreds after a recount. Are we saying that our maths has gone so bad that we do not know simple arithmetic?.

Just_A_Rakyat: This is exactly the tidak apa (whatever) mentality that is going to bring our country down - from election to education, you name it. Our nation will never achieve anything great as long as we have people like Wan Saiful around.

Stop Lynas: Those allowing foreign workers to vote were committing treason. Do you expect us to keep quiet and forget it?

NCS: Exactly how CEO Wan Saiful, are we going to reform the system? Even just the eight demands from Bersih, they can't do. CEO, please do enlighten us, please.

Anonymous_40c3: Wan Saiful, a point of observation. Efforts were indeed made prior to election but there were little else apart from some concessions made, such as the now not so indelible ink .

Anonymous #12566075: Wan Saiful, it is very easy for you to say accepting the result and to put effort in reforming.

The real issue here is that the electoral roll was contaminated with thousands of phantom voters long before GE13 and the authorities just refused to act on it, with the sole intention of cheating.

Geronimo: Reforming the system? If I may so kind as to ask, how? It is already a common knowledge that Umno is hell-bent on cheating and quite frankly, it has become an uphill task trying to beat them at the game.

Or, are you saying to reform the current system by improving on their cheating modus operandi?

Mushiro: There is no way we can reform the electoral process with Umno and PM Najib Razak at the helm. Not for another 50 years. Bersih has conveyed the rakyat's messages to the EC and all we got was a cocky, arrogant response.

None of Bersih's fair demands were given a chance. Even the indelible ink was a fiasco. The approach now should be with facts.

If Pakatan got the facts and evidence to prove that Umno and the EC had cheated - then we should not wait, we should demand Najib and Umno to step down and EC should be prosecuted.

Kassim bin muhamad: "But I personally believe that we should accept the result, it is credible as of now..." Yes Sir, just like that? Btw, in dealing with the authorities, don't you feel that we have been 'helpless' most of the time? Or don't you think all this while, we have conveniently been faking this unbelievable state of helplessness?

MockingYou: I agree, but not on reforming the system as I'm sure no matter how idiotic BN is, they won't do away with a system that has served them well. Anger can be managed and channeled positively.

Thana55: Not minor flaws, what happened are gross violations. We cannot ignore the fact that Pakatan Rakyat gets 51 percent of the popular vote and only 89 seats. "Accept" is definitely out of the question.

Osama: Where are all the whistleblowers when the country needs you? Over to you, Bersih, to conduct a public hearing for witnesses to testify the wrongs that have been committed against the rakyat.

SusahKes: Saiful, for some time I had my doubts about you and Ideas, but I was prepared to overlook what I initially believed to be shortcomings. I thought you were beginning to mature at providing balanced views that would eventually represent our aspirations for a two-party system.

That was, until I read this news of your findings. Tell me, in what good conscience do you expect the rakyat to accept a "partially free and unfair" set of results?

If I failed my exams due to the examiner being "partially unfair", should I keep quiet? We are talking about the future of 27 million Malaysians; partially unfair doesn't quite cut it, especially if there appears to be solid evidence of irregularities and fraud.

Mahatma Gandhi is quoted to have told the British, "100,000 Englishmen simply cannot control 350 million Indians."

Similarly, 51.4 percent of voters who voted for Pakatan - the majority - shouldn't be asked to accept a government they didn't vote for, especially when victory was obtained by gerrymandering and irregularities.


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