[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 18 Aug 1999
Time: 04:48:13
Remote User: -
Malaysia's polls watchdog ready for election
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (AFP) - Malaysia's polls watchdog is almost ready to handle any snap general election and rejects opposition allegations of bias, reports said Wednesday.
Omar Mohamad Hashim, chairman of the election commission, was quoted by The Star newspaper as saying it was "90 percent ready."
It would spend 55 million ringgit (14.5 million dollars) and employ 109,792 temporary workers, he said.
Malaysia must hold an election by June next year but Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is widely expected to call a snap poll as the economy recovers from recession.
In late July the election watchdog said it was making final preparations in anticipation of an election in September.
Mahathir, in power for 18 years and seeking a fresh five-year mandate, has already embarked on a nationwide tour.
Responding to opposition complaints of "phantom voters," Omar said correction of the electoral rolls was a continuing exercise with 560,000 names being struck off the list since 1995 for various reasons.
He said non-governmental organisations which had formed an election watchdog were free to do so but it would get no special privileges.
Chiding opposition parties for constantly accusing the watchdog of being a government tool, he assured the 9.7 million voters that it would conduct the election in a free, fair and independent manner.
"I hope they will cease making such unfounded accusations in public. Their actions will only result in the people losing confidence in the commission," he said.
Opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said that while the election commission may be prepared for the next election, "it is clearly unprepared as far as conducting a fair, free and clean general election."
It can be seen by Omar's refusal to take responsibility to prevent the rigging of postal voters from the armed forces and the police -- "which had always marred previous elections," he said in a statement.
Lim, who is also the secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party, urged the election watchdog to decide the length of the election campaign.
"It is an open secret that when the prime minister dissolves parliament, he has already decided on the polling day, which would include the length of the election campaign period," he said.
Omar had said the election commission had taken numerous measures to ensure transparency, adding that claims of rigging of postal votes from the armed forces and police would be addressed by posting a commission official at camps when ballot papers were handed out.
"What happens after that is beyond our control. The officers and their wives mark and place the sealed ballot papers in the box," he said.