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Can the Election Commission do more for the rakyat?

With the 14th general election (GE14) approaching us so fast, as time moves so quickly, we will ask ourselves whether the Election Commission (EC) is doing enough to serve the rakyat?

Alternatively, we can all raise the important question - can the EC do much more for us, the rakyat and the voters?

GE14 could be held at around the end of September this year, after we celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri in style, to put the whole nation in a happier and more optimistic mood.

If that is so, the rakyat have only this month of March for eligible voters to register to vote.

This is because only voters who have been registered at least six months before the elections can vote at the next GE.

Urgency and challenge to register voters

Hence there should be urgency to organise an all-out national campaign to register voters this month. If however the GE14 is held later than September, then we will have a little more time to register voters. This will be a bonus for the rakyat and we must use it, too, without diluting the NGO resources on other less productive activities.

This time the registration of voters is a real challenge for the EC and indeed for all Malaysians. Why is it so?

It’s because a massive number of over 4 million Malaysians have not registered as voters as yet. Most of these eligible but unregistered voters are the young Malaysians in the age group 21-30.

What a shame?

It’s a shame that our youth have been so tardy to register as voters. It’s a disappointment to us all that they have shown so little responsibility to do their duty as young citizens and worse still, as our future leaders in all fields, and not only in politics.

It’s depressing to note that our youth are quick to blame the many wrongs in our society, but don’t even want to register as voters to put things right.

The adults should be able to encourage the youth to register, but often enough, many adults, too, don’t care.

There is a sense of malaise that seems to have grown and gripped the country. There is a sense of hopelessness that is debilitating. This pessimism can undermine our socio-economic progress and national unity.

Perhaps the unregistered youth feel that the EC has undertaken too much ‘gerrymandering’ and indulged heavily in the mal-apportionment of votes in many constituencies all over the country, and particularly in the urban areas.

But all these reasons are nevertheless no excuse for not registering to vote. The youth have a duty and an obligation, like the adults, to bring about greater fairness and justice in our electoral system.

We can’t afford to be indifferent to any abuses in our system, for we the rakyat will suffer in the end. We have to soldier on for a better Malaysia - and the youth should take the lead and carry the banners forward. We adults have done our fair share and must hand over the torch to the youth.

Can the EC do more to strengthen the election process?

Yes indeed. The EC can do much more to help register the 4 million eligible but unregistered voters. But the EC may have failed us so far.

Why for instance has the EC severely cut down on the appointment of assistant registrars of voters? Why does the EC not step up voter registration campaigns at town hall meetings, malls and community centres and around post offices? Why can’t the EC work closely with the hundreds of dedicated non-governmental organisations and thousands of volunteers to register the 4 million eligible voters?

The NGOs seek cooperation with the EC - I have myself tried to reach out to the EC, but the response has been cool.

Conclusion

The EC must strengthen the electoral process and the voter registration system and increase and win more confidence from the rakyat.

If the E is weak or passive, it could well give the impression to the rakyat that the EC wants to play only a marginal role in promoting the healthy and active democratic elections and to abstain from building a viable and sustainable democracy itself.

The GE determines the future success or failure of our beloved country. I am sure I speak for most Malaysians who desperately yearn for free, fair and honest elections.

This means that the EC must go all out to cooperate with the rakyat to register the 4 million eligible voters as soon as possible. This must happen before the time constraints deprive eligible voters of their birthright and deny us all of our full democratic electoral participation and choice of our elected representatives. Otherwise the 4 million unregistered voters may think that the EC is not interested in them and would want to exclude them from voting.

I therefore believe that the government has a grave and sacred duty to urge the EC and its officials to do their job well and even much better - and to be truly worthy of the public trust and rakyat’s amanah, of all the responsible and majority of Malaysians.


RAMON NAVARATNAM is chairperson of Asli/Centre for Public Policy Studies.

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