Bersih to monitor Sabah polls, urges voters to reject money politics

Bersih will mobilise its election monitoring team (Pemantau) to oversee the 17th Sabah state election, while calling on voters to reject outright all forms of money politics.

In a statement today, the election watchdog said that Pemantau aims to ensure that the rights of Sabah voters are upheld, and that the election is conducted in a clean, free, and fair manner, with a level playing field for all candidates and political parties.

"Elections must be free from misconduct and vote-buying, so that the outcome genuinely reflects the will of the people.

"Last March, Bersih urged Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor to promptly announce the date of the state assembly’s dissolution, to allow all parties to prepare for the election and to enable voters to plan ahead.

“Unfortunately, it appears that the political interests of the ruling party have been prioritised over the rights and interests of the people of Sabah," it said.

Concerns over exposés

Bersih expressed concern that the series of videos exposing several members of the Sabah cabinet allegedly receiving bribes "may only be the tip of the iceberg, showing how dirty money is circulated" and used as political funding to win an election.

It added that, for this reason, Pemantau will focus on monitoring money politics and corruption offences that may arise before or during the election period.

"Bersih strongly urges Sabahans to reject, without exception, any form of money politics from candidates or parties. The common practice of accepting money but voting freely must be abandoned, as it only encourages political actors to raise illegal funds to distribute to voters in their bid to win seats.

"This time, Bersih will mobilise 100 Pemantau observers to monitor 30 of Sabah’s 73 constituencies," it said.

Bersih explained that these constituencies were marked as they include a history of party-hopping, seats linked to corruption scandals, marginal constituencies, and Hajiji's own constituency.

Monitoring will be carried out both on the ground and online throughout the campaign period, the watchdog said.

"In addition, Bersih will hold a series of workshops in several districts and online, to raise public awareness on the role Sabahans can play in safeguarding the integrity of the election beyond casting their vote on polling day," the group added.

The Pemantau Bersih website can be accessed here.

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