http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39301
POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Calls for Electoral Reforms Met With Violence
By Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 18 (IPS) - Political tension is rising in Malaysia as
the demand by a coalition of opposition political parties and some 26 civil
society groups for a clean and fair election is increasingly being met with
violence by the ruling, 13-party National Front coalition.
Earlier this month police fired tear gas and shot at protestors, injuring
two opposition supporters in the chest, while breaking up a massive opposition
rally in Terengganu state where opposition and government are equally matched
in strength.
The Sep.8 rally, organised by BERSIH, acronym for a coalition of five
opposition political parties and 26 civil society NGOs, was the biggest one
organised so far to press the demand for free and fair elections.
BERSIH (the word means clean in the Malay language) has been touring the
country mobilising and winning public support ahead of a general election that
is widely expected to be called in November, when police began using excessive
force adding a new and violent dimension to electoral politics in the country.
"The use of such hard force and firing weapons, injuring opposition supporters,
is unprecedented in recent history," said parliamentary opposition leader Lim
Kit Siang.
Police said the assembly had no permit and was therefore illegal, but
opposition leaders insist on their right to peaceful assembly to demand change.
During the melee the national flag was burned, an act the mainstream
electronic media has taken advantage of by repeating the scene over and over
again, accusing opposition members of being unpatriotic -- a serious accusation
in a year when the country is celebrating 50 years as an independent nation.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi himself accused the opposition parties of
starting a riot in order to blame the government and discrediting his 13-party
National Front coalition government.
For their part, opposition leaders have charged that cleverly disguised
"agent provocateurs" had burnt the flag and put the blame on them.
"The incident strongly suggests that police harassment has reached new
heights against gatherings deemed unfavorable to the government," Anwar said in
an interview with Malaysiakini, an independent online news agency this week.
"This is cause for grave concern," he said.
Whatever the case, tension is mounting as opposition political parties
and civil society groups go on a road show demanding major changes in the way
the country has conducted 11 general elections since independence in 1957.
The campaign for electoral reforms is a major effort by the long
suffering opposition political parties and civil society leaders to level the
playing field to ensure free, fair and clean election.
Among the changes they want is abolition of the 'first-past-the post'
polling system inherited from the departing British colonial authorities that
allows the winner with a simple majority to dominate parliament.
Opposition political parties often poll 40 to 50 percent of the national
vote but end up with a paltry number of seats in parliament as is the case now.
(The opposition together controls only 18 of the 219 seats in parliament
although they polled over 40 percent of the national vote in the 2004 general
elections)
"This is an outdated system that shuts out minorities, women and
indigenous people...their voice is drowned out by majoritarian rule," said Lim.
"It does not reflect the national vote that opposition won in the elections."
"With the outdated system the government virtually gives itself a huge
majority every election," he told IPS. "We have elections but not
representative rule nor democratic practices.it is a camouflage," he said. "It
is time major changes are made to the election system to make it truly
representative."
Other BERSIH demands include an end to gerrymandering of electoral
constituencies that takes place once every 10 years and to make the Election
Commission an independent authority and end its subservience to the ruling
coalition.
Critics also want the government to allow in domestic and international
observers and the removal of the discretionary powers of the Registrar of
Societies to deny registration for new political parties.
(An example is the Socialist party of Malaysia which has been denied
registration for over a decade on grounds that it poses a threat to national
security.)
"We also want the high cash deposits for candidates to be reduced," said
Lim Guan Eng, secretary general of the Democratic Action Party or DAP, the
largest opposition party in parliament. "It is ridiculous to impose high cash
barriers for contesting and still claim we are a democracy. Such methods block
off poor people from seeking elected office, leaving the rich to dominate
parliament."
The fees just to contest a parliamentary constituency is Malaysian
Ringgit 8,000 (2,293 US dollars).
Another demand is to end the extremely short eight-day campaign period --
arguably the shortest of any democracy in the world. "Such a short eight-day
campaign period is ridiculously inadequate to convince voters to back the
opposition," said Sivarasah Rasiah, human rights lawyer and vice-president of
the National Peoples Party of de-facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
"On the other hand the ruling coalition has all the advantages. It keeps
the polls date secret but prepares heavily in the meantime and then springs a
surprise by suddenly dissolving parliament," Rasiah told IPS. ''During the
short, eight-day campaign period it (ruling coalition) unleashes the government
machinery and mainstream media on us. This is unethical and a serious violation
of democratic principles.''
"Worst the blitz is paid for by public resources that should rightly be
also made available to us in equal measures," Rasiah said. "While we are
hounded, refused permits and shot at they are free to assemble and preach
directly and over the government controlled mainstream media. It all makes for
a sham election and democracy.''
These are however only some of the more 'benign' demands BERSIH is making
to ensure a level playing field level for all stakeholders.
Worst of all, some election expert say, is that the electoral roll itself
is faulty with the commission failing to remove dead voters and clean up, what
opposition party leader's claim are, thousands of 'phantom voters'.
"There is a need to completely revise and overhaul the electoral roll
because it is heavily compromised," said Yap Swee Seng, executive director of
SUARAM, leading human rights NGO and BERSIH member. "We need a roll that is
clean, transparent and one that inspires confidence. Until then elections are
just a sham."
As the pressure mounts the commission suddenly conceded to one of
BERSIH's many demands -- use of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting.
Opposition political parties and NGOs under the BERSIH umbrella have
upped the ante by announcing a mammoth rally in October to press their case for
reforms setting the stage for a major tussle with the ruling National Front
coalition.
(END/2007)
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