House voted 64-19 to approve controversial changes to election law

comments     Susan Loone     Published     Updated

The government today successfully pushed through the Election (Amendment) Bill 2002, which will entail drastic changes in the conduct of the countrys elections, after 64 out of 83 members of parliament voted in favour of the amendments.

The vote was split along party line with 19 MPs from the opposition PAS, Keadilan and DAP objected to the bill.

The passing of the bill came despite last-minute attempts by the opposition to derail the vote.

An earlier vote count at the policy stage resulted in the bill being passed by 63 to 23. The opposition then called for another vote at the third reading of the bill.

This tactic backfired as the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition obtained one additional vote while the opposition lost four votes because their own members had already left the House.

Crucial vote

Less than half of the 193 MPs were present in Parliament for the crucial vote.

With the approval of the controversial bill, the electoral roll issued by the Election Commission can no longer be challenged in any court of law.

This was seen by critics as the most serious consequence of the amendments. Another was the increase in the deposit for parliamentary candidates from the previous RM5,000 to a maximum of RM20,000 as a way of encouraging serious candidates.

Fifteen members debated on the proposed amendments today.

Earlier, de facto law minister Dr Rais Yatim assured MPs that the RM20,000 deposit was only a ceiling and would not be imposed according to the whims and fancies of the Election Commission.

Rais said the proposal to amend the election laws specifically those relating to the deposit was done after serious consideration by the EC, which had examined the socio-economic status of the country.

"It is not true that the EC will impose the maximum amount of RM20,000 [for the next general elections]," said Rais while winding up the debate on bill.

"The EC will use its discretion and impose a reasonable increase," added Rais, who is minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Proof of fair EC

Rais urged the MPs to give the EC a chance to prove its credibility.

"We have had 10 elections, PAS has won in two states. Isn't this enough proof that the EC would act in a fair manner?" queried Rais.

Rais also urged the MPs to use the term "voters who registered wrongly" when referring to phantom voters.

He said he would stand by the fairness and independence of the EC, and hope it would be allowed to operate without any hitches.

On allegations that postal votes often sided with the government, Rais dismissed it as "not always true".

He cited the Teluk Kemang by-election two years ago as an example, where the opposition obtained some 2,000 votes.



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