Based on its comprehensive study on the recent general election, Barisan Alternatif (BA) claimed that manipulation of the electoral roll was one of the 'rampant' irregularities on polling day.

BA election irregularities action committee deputy chairperson Abdul Rahman Othman said detailed inspection of the electoral roll revealed that the Election Commission (EC) did not clean it up before publishing it.

"Some names appear more than once, either in different queue lists or different voting lists. And some list are haunted by phantom voters," he said at a press conference yesterday.

The findings have been compiled in a 16-page booklet entitled 'Fraud and Rigging in the Malaysian 11th General Election' which is available to the public.

Among others, the booklet claimed that the electoral roll for the Lembah Jaya polling district (in the Ampang parliamentary constituency) - gazetted on March 16, 2004 - contained the names of four voters who could have cast their ballots more than once.

Similar cases were detected in Serdang where one Siti Rohana Bte Abdullah (I/C 630110108116) was registered to vote in both Sri Serdang and Sabak Bernam (both in Selangor).

The booklet added that an 'obvious abuse' took place in Hulu Kelang (Selangor) where the EC's published roll comprised names of deceased persons and those using addresses of people not related to them and without the householders consent.

Deceased voters

Discrepancies were also found in the Klang Gate polling district, where one voter was registered under the address of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) vice-president Azmin Ali's mother.

Records also showed that deceased voter Zahara Ahmad, bearing the serial number146, had allegedly cast her vote in the recent polls.

There was a similar 'zombie voter' case in Perlis, where one Shuib Taib had voted in the March 21 polls despite passing away on Jan 26, 1976. A local resident has lodged a police report over this.

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman said Keadilan Wanita chief Fuziah Salleh, who contested and lost in the Kuantan parliamentary seat, had detected 827 voters with questionable identity card numbers.

"Our personal survey showed that the last four digits in identity cards begin with the number five and above. But after scrutinising the electoral roll we found a total of 827 identity cards with the last four numbers beginning with the digit four and below," he added.

He said the matter has been referred to the National Registration Department (NRD) but have yet to receive any response.

Independent inquiry

The Keadilan leader said the discrepancies were not new and had been raised with the EC before but the commission has ignored the opposition's plight.

"For example the issue of phantom voters, EC officials said they can't stop anyone with a valid identity card from casting their ballots.

"As to suspicious voters with odd identity cards, EC officials suggested that we investigate the NRD instead," he said.

Abdul Rahman stressed the need for an independent inquiry to investigate both the EC and the NRD, which he claimed appeared to be assisting the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to remain in power.

Echoing similar concerns, PAS leader Yeop Adlan Che Ros said Malaysia's electoral system has dropped to the standard of that in several other third world nations.

"It's obvious that the system we adopted from the British has failed us. What we have experienced in the general elections here are the same with that of some countries in Africa and Latin America.

"I can see that we are going through the same process those countries had gone through...first independence, then development followed by mega projects, corruption and in the end election rigging to veil the corrupt practices of leaders," said the former ambassador to Mexico.