Another citizen-based volunteer group was launched in Penang today with the primary goal of advocating the rights of voters in the coming general election.

Malaysian Voters Union (MVU) spokesperson Ong Boon Keong said that voters are often denied rights to adequate information about candidates and political parties.

"Most of the time, voters are bombarded with information from candidates and political parties, without them being given equal chances to ask questions of real concern to themselves," he said.

"We intend to turn the table this time and putting the politicians on the spot by organising joint meet-the-people sessions for candidates and the electorate. At such sessions, voters can ask the candidates and parties on their stand on issues of concern to them," he added.

Free and fair

Over the months, other groups dedicated to a 'free and fair' election campaign have been organised to monitor the coming general election, expected to be called in March or April.

A group calling themselves Mafrel or Malaysian for a Free and Fair Election are deploying hundreds of volunteers to contact 1,000 voters in selected constituencies as a way to ensure that phantom voters are not on the list .

The voters' names have been randomly picked from the current Election Commission list, which has been verified up to Dec 31.

Another website known as "Malaysian Election Media Monitors" was launched recently by Penang-based movement, Charter 2000-Aliran.

Charter 2000-Aliran is a citizens' media initiative based on a press freedom manifesto endorsed by 39 civil society and media groups.

Its monitoring team comprises about 20 volunteers nationwide and their task is to monitor the conduct of the mass media on a daily basis and post their observations on the website for public feedback.

Start campaign everywhere

Meanwhile, MVU will be compiling the concerns of voters and profiles of candidates through various sources.

Ong said since MVU is a voluntary body, it hopes its initiative will inspire more people who are dissatisfied with the denial of voters' rights to start similar campaigns throughout the country.

"It is very important for the people to hold politicians accountable for their actions and to build a vibrant democratic system in Malaysia," he said.

MVU has also started a web site (www.malvu.org ) to be a clearing house for election offences, complete with profiles of candidates and parties.