YOURSAY | 'Nga is both right and wrong.'

Nga slams EC's separate state polls explanation as 'absurd', says should resign

EmEmKay: Ever since this government came to power, those of us who have watched Malaysian politics closely have noticed a persistent pattern - decisions stalled, announcements undermined, and narratives quietly twisted.

For a long time, many of us attributed this to the normal friction of governance, the usual bureaucratic inertia. But let us stop being naive.

What we have witnessed, time and again, are BN sympathisers embedded deep within the machinery of government - civil servants, department heads, institutional officers - who never reconciled themselves to the outcome of the 15th general election.

They smile at the briefings. They nod at the directives. And then they find a thousand quiet ways to sand the wheels.

This is not a conspiracy theory. This is the lived reality of any government that inherits a civil service built and cultivated over six decades by its predecessor.

The Madani government walked into Putrajaya and found the furniture rearranged by people who still answered to the old landlord.

I could barely stomach the sabotage in the ministries. I could understand, if not accept, the foot-dragging in the departments.

What I did not expect - what I confess shocked me - was to watch the EC, the one institution whose sacred duty is to stand above partisan politics and safeguard the integrity of our democracy, appear to place its thumb on the scale.

The EC’s explanation for holding separate state elections, rather than concurrent ones, has been rightly described by DAP deputy chairperson Nga Kor Ming as absurd. And absurd it is.

When the body entrusted with managing free and fair elections starts making decisions that conveniently align with the interests of one political camp - the camp that benefits most from fragmented voter turnout, from fatigued electorates, from non-Malay voters staying home - then the independence of that institution must be loudly and publicly questioned.

Nga is right. Those responsible should resign.

VoteOfOne: Divide and conquer. Ironically, the very tactics used during our colonial past, which every "patriotic" Malaysian politician was against, are being brought back yet again.

They know Malaysians are useful "fools" that these people in office could bank on yet again.

Not only will the EC pack up after completing the Johor state election first, but it will also deploy all the teams (from Johor) to assist in Negeri Sembilan.

Political parties would also pack their cheerleaders into buses to build hype outside ballot centres.

More cheering crowds, more buntings, more music and so on, because there are always those clueless voters who would bet on the perceptive "winning horse".

One also wonders if the EC team gets paid twice for running two elections, albeit by the same team at that.

Zaheed: In India, three states held elections on three separate dates recently, but they were very careful not to announce the winners till the last one was completed.

This is so as not to give unfair advantage to the winners and the losers. That's how great democracies work.

In Malaysia, separate elections are used as an advantage for certain parties. That is where we fall short. Very sad. EC should play its role fairly.

If DAP wants to be seen as a serious governing force, it must stop reacting like a cry-baby opposition outfit whenever circumstances are not favourable to its wishes.

Question the EC by all means, but do it with discipline, evidence, and institutional responsibility.

Apanama is back: Nga, at least the EC knows they are handling state elections and general elections. That should be more than enough. If Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is clueless, the above should be more than enough.

Different dates proposed because they take Malaysian taxpayers' generosity for granted.

Look, even when Anwar went to Tokyo, the country was still doing fine. The economist in the Prime Minister’s Department asked everyone to be frugal.

Madaninomics goes crazy! Maybe the EC need to use a bull cart to transfer the ballot boxes. You may clarify with them.

Anonymous_3f4b: Nga is both right and wrong. He is right in questioning why the EC see it fit to hold two state elections on separate dates instead of a common date, thus causing inconvenience to voters, logistics, organisation, manpower, transport and wasting time, unnecessary expenses and undue wastage of public funds.

He is wrong in saying that the polling date should not be on a Saturday.

As long as I can remember, the polling date is always on a Saturday for logistics and administrative purposes.

Saturday is a non-working day for most, and the results of the election will be known by Sunday morning at the latest. Any shocks and aftereffects can be better absorbed on a rest day before the next working day, and can also give time for the EC staff to take a day break.

No polling should be done on a Sunday or weekday except for some previous occasions in the long past, mainly for political considerations and motives.

PinkJaguar7289: DAP must understand that being in government is different from being in permanent opposition mode. Not every decision that does not suit its political convenience should be met with shouting, slamming, and demands for resignation.

Yes, the EC must explain its reasoning clearly and transparently, especially when separate polling dates can affect cost, turnout, campaign momentum, and public confidence.

But a ruling party’s duty is to manage complexity, not behave like every administrative difficulty is a conspiracy. Governance requires maturity.

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