LETTER | Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) urges the Election Commission (EC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) to jointly take stern action against all political parties and their members who seem to be using inducement as means to buy votes for the coming 14th Malaysian general election.

There appear to be various incidents of such activities, such as in a particular video currently in circulation, in which members and supporters of a political party are seen distributing large sums of money to a random participant.

In the video, the participant is requested to come on stage and he is asked if his vote was for that party, and to which the participant replies “memang” (indeed). His response landed him RM 25,000 in cash.

It does not matter to TI-M if the parties involved with enticement are from the current caretaker government, or the opposition, but firm and fair action should be taken against all such corrupt and deplorable acts.

Such inducement is a violation of the law, under Section 10 of the Election Offences Act 1954, and can be deemed to be bribery under the MACC Act 2009.

Now, more than ever, where our nation’s future is at stake with this GE14, our laws against such corrupt activities must be enforced and seen to be enforced against all persons and parties practising such acts. Otherwise, the credibility of our enforcement agencies, and even the credibility of the election process, will be seriously called into question.

If such enforcement is held back, either due to lack of independence or even instructions from those in power, the rule of law, a fundamental principle in our Federal Constitution and even in our Rukun Negara, will be seen to have been compromised when upholding it matters the most. The rakyat surely will not take such failure lightly and will respond swiftly in more ways than one.

TI-M, therefore, decries all such corrupt practices and urges all relevant enforcement agencies and authorities to do their part to protect our democratic process and uphold a free and fair 14th general election.

Who else can the people turn to and depend on, if not you who have been entrusted with this power and duty? For the sake of our beloved nation, let us do what is right.

AKHBAR SATAR is the president of Transparency International Malaysia, an independent, non-governmental and non-partisan organisation committed to the fight against corruption.