The 25-year old ban on open public rally has been lifted for the coming general election, says Election Commission chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman.

In an exclusive interview with malaysiakini on Sept 4, the EC chief said that his proposal to provide avenue for political parties to hold open public rallies was successful when the amendment to the Election (Conduct of Elections) Regulations 1981 was allowed recently.

In 1978, the then inspector general of police Hanif Omar had announced the total ban on all open public rallies citing several security reasons, including the alleged 30th anniversary of the Communist Party of Malaya's armed struggle.

However, Abdul Rashid said while the ban on open public rallies will be lifted, such open gatherings are nevertheless subjected to other laws such as the Police Act for security purposes.

"It is going to be controlled - not by us but other authorities because of the existence of other laws. Other laws come into play during elections. These laws are the over-riding factor.

"The police will identify the places and permits. You just cannot go to any nooks and corners and conduct the rally. This is for security, or so they say - I have no choice but agree to it."

He added that the commission's main duty is to ensure that the police are fair in the issuance of permits for the rallies so that there is a level-playing field among the political parties.

"For this, we have to use our ways to talk to the police. I'm not saying that the police have not been fair but sometimes they do get carried away. Instructions from the top never go down to the ground," he said.

Lobbied for changes

Abdul Rashid, who had seven years experience as the commission's secretary before he was appointed EC chief, said the change was one of his many proposals that he had lobbied to the government.

"Since I came in three years (ago), I try to make changes. Last time, when I was the (EC) secretary, I cannot push. We took minutes (of meetings). As soon as I came in as chairman, I put in a lot of proposals..," he said.

Abdul Rashid was involved in organising four previous general elections, and the coming polls will be his first foray as EC boss.

He said despite the commission's efforts, there were still certain quarters - especially among the opposition - criticising the body.

"People are 'walloping' us (the EC) because they don't understand our stand," he lamented.

The EC is an independent body tasked with the impartial management of free and fair elections. It will organise the next general election, due before the end of next year.

Tomorrow: Caretaker government's abuse of resources