Malaysiakini Your Say | Jun 21, 11 9:09am

‘The EC under your watch has been arrogant and blatantly partisan and refused to even look at the mountains of evidence of widespread electoral fraud.’

EC prepared to meet Bersih if it scraps rally

Anak Bangsa Malaysia: Too little, too late, Election Commission chief Abdul Aziz Yusof. Only when faced by the unstoppable wrath of the people do you even give the impression of getting off your high horse.

The EC under your watch has been arrogant and blatantly partisan. You refused to even look at the mountains of evidence collected by multiple parties showing widespread electoral fraud – not just in the recent Sarawak state elections but also in numerous previous by-elections.

Even with irrefutable video proof of electoral bribery (such as BN chief Najib Razak’s infamous ‘I help you, you help me’ speech being one example), the EC played deaf, dumb and blind.

Electoral constituencies have been constantly gerrymandered so that rural seats outweigh urban seats by factors of five or more. Not a single instance of electoral fraud has been investigated or prosecuted.

The EC has also refused to implement numerous anti-fraud measures, like the use of indelible ink, as well as the removal of phantom voters. No, Abdul Aziz, the Bersih march will go on.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: The EC statement itself is politically charged, insinuating that Bersih is controlled by the opposition who are always irresponsible in the eyes of the commission and that the Bersih rally is a threat to the EC.

In such circumstances, what is the point of having a dialogue with the EC when it has prejudged all the issues and is now trying to demonise Bersih and the opposition parties? If the EC was truly independent, it would have by now recommended to the king and the government concrete reforms that it wants implemented in the electoral laws and system.

Instead, the EC behaves that it is beholden to the Umno/BN government. It allows the BN to disregard the laws with impunity most of the time.

Flabbergasted: Abdul Aziz, are you in a position to implement Bersih’s requests? Everyone including you know there is lot of hanky panky. You dare bring it up and lose your job? You’re the rubber stamp for the BN.

4 Ever Malaysian: Just do it, S Ambiga/Bersih, go on marching. Everything has been planned, buses have been booked, all logistic arrangements have been made and paid for.

Don’t ever listen to EC anymore. It is an old story, again and again. Every election is filled with phantom voters, vote-buying, unfairness by police, etc. No way is Bersih going to abandon its rally. It is the people’s rally. Why can’t you, EC, for once listen to the rakyat?

NX: How do you explain a DAP politician representing 150,000 people in one constituency and an Umno politician representing 15,000 people? You are proving that Umno politicians need subsidies even in politics.

JBGUY: Abdul Aziz, you have lost your credibility. In the previous by-elections there were several abuses by the ruling party and yet you did not act. The BN used government machinery to campaign, they spent more than the limits imposed, they manipulated the mainstream media and they openly bought votes through cash or pledges.

This Bersih 2.0 demonstration and rally is a reflection of all the ills propagated by the BN in cahoots with you and your officers. If you are sincere about cleaning up, begin by cleaning up the electoral rolls, which doesn’t need an amendment to existing laws.

Anonymous: Abdul Aziz says, “To me, a street demonstration will not solve any problems.”

A cock-and-bull story again. Bersih has tried civil means to engage EC umpteenth times but to no avail. That leaves Bersih with no choice but to choose the last civil means to make known their legal grouses through a peaceful demonstration.

Bersih is both morally and legally right in demanding free and fair elections.

Opaque: The fact that Abdul Aziz postponed the meeting in March or April shows there is no sincerity on the part of the EC to do anything different for a freer and fairer election.

Despite having met Bersih chief S Ambiga, the EC totally ignored the demands of Bersih in the recent Sarawak election. As it turned out, the Sarawak election was the dirtiest and most corrupt ever held in Malaysia.

So Abdul Aziz, please tell us why do we need to believe in you this time around when you have in the past been given so many chances to improve the election process but you chose to act dumb instead.

Kgen: How dare the EC chief offers to meet Bersih only if the rally is called off? Does it take the threat of mass protest for this Umno henchman to listen to the cries of voters for free and fair elections?

Will there be any action even if Bersih calls off the rally and meet this Umno lackey? Of course, there will be no action. This Umno stooge will just claim his hands are tied. If Bersih doesn’t call off the rally does it mean that this Umno underling, who is a disgrace to his office, has the right to ignore legitimate complaints about the electoral process?

Quigonbond: I am laughing my head off once again. The EC is a scapegoat?

The EC fails to lodge police reports against electoral bribery in Sarawak state elections. EC throughout the years skewed constituency boundaries so that in some places, up to 10 votes are equivalent to a vote elsewhere.

And we are not even talking about vote rigging, phantom voters and electoral fraud yet. What so difficult about indelible ink that EC can’t implement? Why is it so hard to extend postal voting to workers and students overseas?

For an election commission that takes pride in ensuring universal suffrage, free and fair elections, the EC should not be pleading for a discussion just as people are taking to the streets to voice their discontent with the electoral system – they should have been the ones taking the initiative to make suggestions.

We now have one cacophony of Muhyddin Yassin, Rais Yatim, Perkasa, Utusan Malaysia, EC and police conspiring to prevent the world from knowing how bad things are here. No, Bersih will go on.

Destruction Inc: I am 71 years. I have yet to see a single free and fair elections. There probably was one during the leadership of Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

The EC chief talks a lot of crap, and we all know that the commission, at this rate, will never stand up for credibility. These issues were brought up before. What has been done so far?

When my sister-in-law checked her electoral rolls, her identity card number was represented by a Malay woman in Perak. She has lived and voted at her present address in Kuala Lumpur for more than 40 years. What do you have to say, Abdul Aziz?

Lusiapa: What a preposterous proposal by the EC chief! It’s akin to children playing with sand. What’s the use of another meeting with Bersih if he remains beholden to the government?

He should rightly exercise the authority conferred on him under the Federal Constitution which clearly states that he must act independently. This of course means that he must have consultation with all the relevant parties concerned.

The constitution never intended him to play the role of an apologist to the government, least of all that of an unashamed apple-polisher.

BudokTerengganu: I am returning to Malaysia from US for a home leave and I will be there at the Bersih rally. By the way, I am a Malaysian first and Chinese second.

Compass: The EC calling Bersih “not free”? Huh? And the EC is free?