Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali has decribed the electoral roll as not clean, and claimed that it showed his father “rose from the dead” to vote in 2004.

Testifying in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today, the PKR deputy president said his father had passed away in 1999, but his name appeared on the electoral roll in the 2004 general election.

"Unfortunately, I did not meet him (the father)," he quipped when replying to a question from lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah.

Azmin was testifying as a witness in the defamation trial involving former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Cross-examined by Khairy's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Azmin said he knew about it after he checked during the 2004 election.

“I saw my father's name and it was ticked (to denote someone had voted on his behalf),” he said.

This is in response to Khairy, who in his defence, alleged that Anwar cannot be trusted for claiming there are 40,000 Bangladeshi "voters" coming to vote in the 13th general election.

Azmin also alleged that although his mother was living alone at their home after his father died, the electoral roll had showed that there were Chinese and Indian voters registered at the same address.

He then submitted a parliamentary minority special report on the Election Commission, admitting the existence of 42,000 dubious voters. He added that the names have not been removed by the EC.

The PKR deputy president also recalled his experience with party workers when they stopped five buses with phantom voters during the Lunas by-election.

“If this was not done, maybe we would have lost the by-election,” he added.

Azmin, who as Selangor MB made a judicial challenge in court over the present re-delineation exercise by the EC, said he and the state found several instances of phantom voters.

Firstly those who voted from the dead which he mentioned earlier.

Secondly, those who are registered at false addresses, where he explained that his late mother's home was in a traditional Malay village but there supposedly exist a condominium with 100 voters.

“Thirdly voters who do not have an address, fourthly those who voted twice, fifthly the instances of the police and army personnel who also possess civilian identity cards and allowed to vote, and finally foreigners being allowed to vote," he said.

Malicious allegation

Azmin was also asked about meetings Anwar had within his inner circle when he was the deputy prime minister. Azmin was Anwar's chief private secretary then.

He said the purpose of the meetings were to discuss on policy matter and the economic situation.

Shafee: How about issues regarding politics on contesting for the presidency or maintaining deputy president's post in 1998?

Azmin: I think that is not relevant as the party (Umno) had decided there would be no contest that year.

Shafee: I put it to you that there were covert efforts (meetings) to overthrow Dr Mahathir Mohamad?

Azmin: That is a malicious allegation.

Azmin testified that as the private secretary, he would jot down all appointments and meetings of Anwar as the deputy prime minister and also finance minister.

Even results of the meetings were noted for record and follow-up purposes, he added.

“All of it was written in a red diary. I even slept with it (the diary). It was important not only to record appointments, but also for safety purpose,” he said.

Azmin said the diary was seized by the police in 1998 when Anwar was sacked from his post as deputy prime minister.

After the Selangor MB's testimony, the plaintiff closed its case.

The hearing continues on May 19 with submissions on the matter.