British Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire will look into the allegations of electoral fraud in the May 5 general election during his one-day visit to Malaysia today, said human rights NGO Suaram.

In a statement issued today, Suaram claimed that the allegations have led the British government to take a stance that it is "ready to support the process of reform where it can".

According to Suaram, the statement was made in a letter dated June 13, 2013 by Swire - as the minister responsible for relations with Malaysia - to the chairperson of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Malaysia, William Cash.

In the letter made available to Suaram, Swire added that Britain has "consistently underlined its support for further political and economic reform in Malaysia" and maintained "regular dialogue with civil society groups campaigning on human rights issues".

Detailed reports of allegations of electoral fraud and the clampdown on human rights before and after the 13th general election have been sent to Cash and other British parliamentarians, said Suaram.

Swire also told Cash in the letter that the British government "made clear our belief (to the Malaysian government) that allegations of irregularities made by opposition parties and civil society groups should be investigated fully".

The minister said that Britain took a "keen interest" in the conduct of the elections even though it "was not invited to formally observe" the polls.

Suaram revealed that the issue of Malaysian electoral fraud was brought up during a parliamentary sitting last fortnight by Tom Greatrex, Labour MP for Rutherglen & Hamilton West, who has been furnished with reports of the allegations by the human rights NGO.

'First-hand look'

The parliamentary Hansard records showed that when Greatrex asked the British government to inform the House "as to whether they will be taking those issues up with the Malaysian government", Swire replied: "I am going to Malaysia next week and I can confirm that I shall be looking into this at first hand".

Greatrex's office also told Suaram that he had raised the concerns about the conduct of the elections with Swire's office, and the latter said he will raise those concerns with the Malaysian government during his visit to Malaysia.

Suaram has been lobbying to the international community to pressure the Malaysian government to reform its electoral system.

NONE It claimed that Swire, in the letter to Cash, had also raised the issue of "international observation" of the 13th general election with both the Election Commission and the government of Malaysia.

The letter explained that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's ( right ) administration has maintained that Malaysia was not seeking international election observers for the general polls, other than from Asean and domestic civil society groups.

However, Swire pointed out that the British High Commission in Malaysia nevertheless sent teams to five states to "observe campaigning" and that its officers visited "a number of polling booths on polling day itself", said Suaram.

The leading human rights group has been working consistently to highlight issues pertaining to human rights and corruption internationally, including at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Its efforts at the UN have led to the Malaysian government finally agreeing to issue an official invitation for a visit by the UN's Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai.

However, Kiai told the UN that his office was awaiting confirmation of the dates for the visit by the Malaysian government, Suaram added.

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