Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has dismissed concerns of possible cheating in the coming general election.

He said this is because elections now are more transparent and accountable compared to when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister.

According to Najib, it is impossible to cheat under the present system.

“The system which we practice is the same which carried Mahathir for 22 years, but it is more transparent and accountable than before.

“We have polling agents, counting agents, indelible ink and others. There is no chance for cheating,” he told reporters after the Umno Supreme Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

He was responding to a question on Mahathir's meeting with a European Union delegation, where the former premier made a request for independent election observers.

Najib said it is strange that Mahathir is now claiming that the election is unfair when the latter won elections based on the same system.

“How can they (opposition) say the election is not fair? Why didn't he (Mahathir) complain about the system during those 22 years?

“They are backed into a corner now. They are forced to complain to foreign powers. They want to create doubt regarding the outcome of the election.

“This is the system which made him prime minister for 22 years and brought this country prosperity,” he added.

'We respect the decision'

Meanwhile, Najib said his administration respected the Federal Court decision to nullify the conversion of M Indira Gandhi's three children to Islam. 

However, he stopped short of stating whether his administration would facilitate the necessary legislative measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring. 

"We will look into the matter. Whatever it is, we respect the decision. 

"I think it is very difficult to please everybody, but important to us to ensure that we respect the process," he said. 

Following the court decision, there have been calls for Putrajaya to reinstate Section 88A of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976. 

The provision was supposed to be included as part of the amendment bill last year, but was withdrawn at the eleventh hour, following protests from Muslim groups.