Election Commission chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman will be replaced by Home Ministry secretary-general Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof effective this Dec 31.

Abdul Aziz is 58 and will helm the EC until he reaches the age of 66 as provided for under Clause (3) Article 114 of the federal constitution.

abdul aziz mohd yusof Abdul Aziz's appointment was announced by the Chief Secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan in a statement today.

Mohd Sidek said that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had consented to Abdul Aziz's appointment under Clause (1) Article 114 of the constitution.

The Sabak Bernam-born Abdul Aziz retired as the Home Ministry secretary-general on Jan 24, 2006 but was reappointed to the post on a contract basis.

Abdul Rashid's terms of service will end on Dec 30 as he reaches the age of 66.

On behalf of the government, Mohd Sidek thanked Abdul Rashid for his excellent service as EC chairman for the past eight years.

Many unsolved issues

abdul rashid abdul rahman Abdul Rashid was to have retired on Dec 31 last year on reaching the mandatory age of 65, but served an extra year after a controversial constitutional amendment.

The outgoing EC chief is known for his controversial remarks and the EC has come under plenty of flak from the opposition and civil society under his tenure.

Among the main complaints thrown at the EC and Abdul Rashid have been the issues of missing names of voters in the electoral roll, the ineffectiveness of the commission in handling complaints over the use of government agencies for Umno/BN campaigns as well as the lopsided media reports.

Claims of vote buying have also been rampant in the past two general elections and several by-elections.

He was under underfire for cancelling the use of indelible ink at the last minute just before the March general election.

Anwar: Make EC free, transparent

In an immediate reaction, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim welcomed Abdul Aziz' appointment, who he said was a highly regarded civil servant.

"In the sense of his professional integrity as a civil servant, it is quite highly regarded but we also know that the EC is tainted and have failed to act free and transparently (when conducting election related matters)," he told reporters in Parliament.

"I plead that Abdul Aziz while helming the EC can change the body into a more free and transparent body," he added.

He also said that he would wait in anticipation for Abdul Aziz to make his statement on how he (Abdul Aziz) would make changes to the EC.