VOXPOP 'Separate elections had been held in Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak. Matters of logistics and finance are not grounds for EC...'

No separate elections, EC chief tells Selangor

Onyourtoes: Election Commission chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, you must know your constitutional role.

It does not matter whether you personally like or dislike separate elections. Your job is to carry it out under the provisions of the constitution.

By what authority can you say "no separate election" for Selangor? Do you have the right to dissolve the Selangor assembly?

If the Selangor assembly is dissolved earlier, it is your job to conduct the election (the date of which you must follow as stipulated in the constitution).

P S Ranjan: The EC should stay out of such policy matters which are regulated by the constitutions of the federation and the states respectively as well as other laws.

Separate elections had been held in Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak. Matters of logistics and finance are not grounds for the EC to interfere in matters which are out of the commission's jurisdiction.

LLfly: I think the EC chairperson is bluffing. This is an excellent strategy by Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim. If the assembly is dissolved on, say, Feb 25, the elections will have to be held within 60 days, i.e. by the end of April.

The EC chairperson has stated that there would not be separate polls, so if he names a date, the PM is put on a spot - he has totally lost his element of surprise. If he doesn't, he's not doing his job.

Fair&Just: "I do not like...," said Abdul Aziz. What's there for you to like? Just do your job. A separate election is easier to monitor and prevent cheating.

Perhaps you fear your BN boss will fire you for not preventing Selangor from holding a separate election as you would be unable to manipulate the election as full focus will be just on one state, whereas in a general election, it will be easier to cheat.

Other states' postal votes cannot be abused, too.

P Dev Anand Pillai: Dear Abdul Aziz, perhaps you have forgotten your role as the chairperson of EC.

Learn some tips from TN Seshan of the EC of India. Perhaps he will tell you what your job scope is. Isn't Sarawak CM Taib Mahmud allowed to have his own elections when he feels it is time?

The job of the EC is to conduct the polls, not to make decisions and offer advice as to when a state assembly should be dissolved.

The chief executive of the state is well-qualified to make that decision. Cost is not a matter here, it is the uneasiness of the Umno-led federal government.

Chipmunk: Elections in Malaysia exist at two levels - the federal level and state level.

Federal level elections are those for membership in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state level elections are for membership in the various state legislative assemblies.

While in theory any state may dissolve its assembly independently of the Parliament, the traditional practice is for most state assemblies to be dissolved at the same time as Parliament, with the exception of Sarawak.

So, is the EC chairperson qualified to say that Selangor cannot have a separate election? It is the decision of the Selangor MB to make the decision and your job as the EC chairperson is to make sure the facilities are available for a clean and fair election and not otherwise.

CiViC: Now I realise that our country is run by only two persons. The first being the attorney-general and the second, the Elections Commission chief.

One controls who gets prosecuted and goes to jail, the other ensures who has the last say on elections. Well, of course, we know who these two belong to.

Gunmen's 'royal army' claim adds twist to Sabah standoff

OMG!!: Whoever they are, they are intruders who have compromised the country's sovereignty and security. They should be arrested and charged with entering the country illegally, and for firearms offences if they are armed.

Yet this government is going to meet their "demand" and send them home. Is this the act of a responsible government?

MockingYou: Hey, wait a minute! What the hell is these so-called ‘royal army' doing in Sabah? Lease or no lease, if rental was paid then ask them to lay down their arms now. It shall be non-negotiable, like the way the Thais disarmed our ‘strayed' commandos.

Starr: Have these people been given MyKads? Just as predicted, these people are coming home to reclaim their ancestral lands, the very basis of the long-standing Sabah claims by the Philippines.

The issuance of MyKads to these people would further complicate the claim; compromise the security of the state; and undermine the sovereignty of the state.

The people behind the Project IC only thought of politics, but never in their minds considered the long-term implications and ramifications of such a treacherous act.

Can former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad say now these people speak Malay, practice the Islamic faith and share common heritage with people of Sabah, therefore they are entitled to citizenship?

Clearly, Mahathir manipulated and exploited the issue for his own political self-interests, not necessarily for the larger interests of the country and its people.

It might well be that the current Sabah royal commission of inquiry (RCI) has unknowingly sparked off the latest armed incident.

Anonymous_VV: Our Muslim bothers must be treated with kid gloves. Please protect them, they mean no harm. They only want recognition because Sabah may perhaps be theirs to be claimed by the Sulu sultanate.

Hmmmmmmmm: Perhaps these armed men are looking for the conman who operated a Ponzi scheme in their country?

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