'Secrecy clause' will protect dubious voters
The newly introduced Section 203A of the Penal Code can undermine free and fair elections, an MP said, as it will stop whistleblowers from coming forward in cases where non-citizens are being registered as voters.
The newly introduced Section 203A of the Penal Code can undermine free and fair elections, an MP said, as it will stop whistleblowers from coming forward in cases where non-citizens are being registered as voters.
"If a civil servant finds out that what had happened in Sabah in terms of registration of (undocumented migrants) into the roll, he or she cannot reveal this information," DAP's Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming told reporters at the Parliament lobby.
Ong, who has done extensive research on the electoral roll prior to joining politics, said the section, dubbed the 'secrecy clause' would also mean that he cannot disclose his own research to the public.
Ong added that the royal commission of inquiry into undocumented migrants in Sabah had heard that there were 50,000 voters in the 2013 electoral roll who are "possibly dubious", as it is doubtful whether their identity cards were obtained through legal means.
The section states that anybody who publicly discloses information that he or she obtains through the course of duty will run foul of the law.
He was speaking at a joint press conference with electoral reform pressure group Bersih, which also questioned the electoral boundary redelineation plans.
Wait for Sabah RCI first
Its co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan said going ahead with the exercise showed disrespect for the RCI, which has yet to conclude its report in which the issue of the electoral roll is included.
Ambiga said that Bersih would continue to resist the redelineation exercise, despite the government's insistence that the Election Commission continues with it, because the exercise would be based on the "unclean" 2013 electoral roll.
"We are not ready to let go. Let's see what action we are compelled to take. The voices have been getting louder and louder, and that is not all (we will do)," she said.
Ambiga said the decision of the government and the EC to "ignore" civil society was akin to the way the government has ben pushing through with amendments to the laws, including the Penal Code, Security Offences and Special Measures Act and Prisons Act, to support the Prevention of Crime Act amendments.
"The conduct of government after the 13th general election goes against all representations made by the prime minister that Malaysia is becoming the best democracy in the world," she said.
"Extreme legislation curtails fundamental freedom, and this is why we are very very concerned with the way the government is behaving after the election, without accountability to the public."
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