The Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall has endorsed the recent call by Malaysian academics for an independent inquiry into the Election Commission (EC) practices during the just concluded 11th general election.

Its civil rights committee chairperson Ser Chong Ing said "too many" unacceptable practices by the EC has required essential open and independent investigations to be conducted in order to put to rest concerns that the elections was not free and fair.

"If our representatives had been elected through unfair elections, how then do we ensure a fair government?" asked Ser in a phone interview today.

Among the more questionable elements, said Ser, was the inconsistent manner in which voting hours were extended in Selangor; the reopening of sealed ballots boxes; and most shocking of all: that marked postal ballots were apparently found in a trash can in Sabak Bernam.

Other issues that require proper probe, he added, include complaints of 'phantom' voters registered at commercial or office addresses, dubious instances where large numbers of voters were registered at a single address, and the fact that scores across the country could not find a place to vote.

"I do not understand why they could have occurred... and these raise questions that fair elections was jeopardised, and as a result, I feel the EC is no longer viewed as a independent body. PSSM is doing the right thing" he said.

Serious problems

On March 27, the Malaysian Social Science Association (PSSM) - whose members also include non-academics who support the promotion of social sciences and humanities - passed a resolution calling for an independent probe, as the electoral problems and weaknesses were "serious and have undermined the integrity of the EC and the practice of elections in Malaysia."

It proposed that the independent body be made up of persons of integrity and be representative of all sectors including political parties, in line with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's promise of greater transparency and efficiency.

PSSM's statement - later endorsed by interest groups such as SCAH, Women Aid Organisation, Sisters In Islam, Malaysian Voters Union, Save Ourselves, and Malaysian Local Democracy Initiative - was written in support of the surprise acknowledgement by EC chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman that an independent probe was needed to address the complaints of professional misconduct and scores of other irregularities.

One week later however, Abdul Rashid announced that an internal probe will instead be established to look into the narrower issue of why scores of registered voters were denied the right to vote in Selangor. It added that the report will only be forwarded to the government.

However, social reform group Aliran have come to criticise the move, which it views as an about-turn by the EC, and a failure to live up to standards of impartiality, following Abdullah's dismissal of the independent inquiry proposal.