Barisan Alternatif (BA) has sought royal intervention to call for fresh elections and nullify the recently concluded polls, which it claimed was tainted by irregularities.

Its election irregularities action committee secretary Mustaffa Kamil Ayub said a memorandum on this was submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong last Friday.

The memorandum was submitted by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was accompanied by vice-president Tian Chua, Mustaffa and PAS vice-president Dr Hassan Ali.

The quartet held a brief meeting with the King's private secretary Raja Hydar Raja Iskandar, who accepted the memorandum.

Condemn EC

The opposition alliance hoped that the King - who heads the Malay Rulers Council - will call a meeting to discuss the matter.

"We hope the Council will declare the results of the 11 th general election invalid and consequently the government formed as null and void. The BA presidential council hopes for a free, fair and transparent re-election," said Mustafa when contacted.

The King was also urged to condemn the Election Commission (EC) for its alleged failure in conducting a fair and transparent election as well as to call for the resignation of its chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman.

Following the polls, PAS and Keadilan rejected the outcome claiming it was tainted by irregularities, which among others, included the commission issuing three versions of the electoral lists.

Numerous complaints were filed regarding election debacles, including a police report by EC secretary Wan Ahmad Wan Omar over the misprint of ballot papers for the Sungai Lembing state seat in Pahang.

Voters were also disgruntled in many constituencies when their names could not be found on the list despite casting their ballots there previously.

Signature campaign

Meanwhile, Mustafa said the BA action committee will also submit copies of the memorandum to each Ruler and the Keeper of the Royal Seal.

He added that similar memoranda will be sent to international bodies, non-government organisations and civil societies.

On the committee's current task, he said it was in the process of vetting the 1,000 complaints received from the public nationwide regarding the irregularities.

"We are very serious. After vetting the complaints we will refer these to our legal committee headed by former lord president Saleh Abas. It will determine the merits of the complaints before we proceed with election petitions," he added.

Mustafa disclosed that the action committee had launched a signature campaign last night to seek public support for a re-election. The committee hopes to collect at least two million signatures.

"It won't be easy but it is not impossible. The launch itself received tremendous response where some 35,000 people came to the PAS headquarters in Taman Melewar (Kuala Lumpur)," he claimed.