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Voters urged to challenge<br />
EC in court<br />
By Brenda Ch’ng<br />
KLANG: Voters who find<br />
their names missing from the<br />
electoral roll were urged to take<br />
the Election Commission<br />
(EC) to court to ensure they get<br />
to vote in the upcoming general<br />
election.<br />
“We already have lawyers<br />
who are willing to work pro<br />
bono. All we need now is for<br />
the voters to acknowledge their<br />
names are missing and want to<br />
sue them (EC),” said Klang<br />
member of parliament Charles<br />
Santiago.<br />
He explained that a gazetted<br />
electoral roll can only be challenged<br />
in court if the voter<br />
concerned agrees to take legal<br />
action.<br />
His office had already identified<br />
3,457 voters whose information<br />
has been missing from<br />
the EC’s database.<br />
In addition, 2,195 voters<br />
from the Klang parliamentary<br />
constituency have been transferred<br />
to 184 different constituencies<br />
nationwide.<br />
“Some <strong>Selangor</strong>-born residents<br />
have also been transferred<br />
to Sabah and Sarawak. How<br />
and why would they want to<br />
vote there when they are living<br />
in Klang?” he said.<br />
To expedite the legal action<br />
plan, Santiago will be mobilising<br />
volunteers from his office<br />
to visit the voters at their homes<br />
and ask them if they know their<br />
names are missing.<br />
From there, the voters can<br />
decide if they want to challenge<br />
the EC in court to find out why<br />
their names have been removed<br />
and be registered as a voter<br />
again.<br />
Santiago hopes that the<br />
thousands of people suing the<br />
EC will cause them to take<br />
cleaning the electoral roll more<br />
seriously.<br />
“This will further be proof<br />
that there are numerous discrepancies<br />
in the electoral roll<br />
which must be addressed immediately<br />
before the upcoming<br />
election,” he said.<br />
He said this during a post<br />
Bersih 3.0 gathering in his of-<br />
fice last Friday, where some 50<br />
people shared their rally experiences<br />
and gave ideas on how to<br />
have a clean and fair election.<br />
Some present also suggested<br />
for Santiago to set up booths at<br />
supermarkets and in public<br />
areas to help people check their<br />
information on the EC’s database<br />
online.<br />
“This is certainly a good<br />
idea, at least we can help those<br />
who don’t know how to check<br />
their voter information,” said<br />
Santiago.<br />
Also present at the gathering<br />
was Bersih 3.0 steering<br />
committee member Maria<br />
Chin Abdullah who said many<br />
people had told her that their<br />
names have been missing from<br />
the electoral roll.<br />
“My advice to everyone is to<br />
news<br />
June 8 <strong>–</strong> 10, 20<strong>12</strong><br />
Yuktesvaran talking about his experience at the Bersih 3.0 rally. (Inset) Sundari<br />
come out to vote. If we can get<br />
a 100 per cent turnout then it<br />
might even out all the phantom<br />
voters and fraud,” she said.<br />
They will be organising seven<br />
forums nationwide to raise<br />
awareness of the issue and to<br />
encourage everyone to vote.<br />
“Don’t think that your vote<br />
is meaningless as each and every<br />
vote will make a huge difference,”<br />
she said.<br />
In addition, she is calling<br />
those who were beaten or assaulted<br />
by police officers during<br />
the April 28 rally to come forward.<br />
“We need them to come to<br />
us so we can help them lodge a<br />
report with Suhakam (Human<br />
Rights Commission of Malay-<br />
sia) and prove that the police<br />
were really violent.”<br />
Maria explained that out of<br />
85 people who claimed they<br />
were assaulted and beaten, only<br />
20 were willing to go to Suhakam.<br />
“The government was fearful<br />
of what will happen and so they<br />
started attacking the people.<br />
“I think this is their way of<br />
warning the people that if they<br />
come out again next time, this<br />
is what they will get,” she said.<br />
During the gathering, some<br />
present shared stories about<br />
how they were beaten up by<br />
police officers at the Bersih 3.0<br />
rally while some others talked<br />
about the carnival-like atmosphere.<br />
5<br />
“I was dragged, beaten and<br />
hit so badly that my stomach<br />
ulcer ruptured. When I lay on<br />
the pavement, the police officers<br />
started mocking me and told<br />
me to stop sleeping and stop<br />
being lazy,” said M Yuktesvaran.<br />
The 25-year-old said he felt<br />
the true spirit of racial unity<br />
there when a Malay man held<br />
his head on his lap while another<br />
Chinese guy ran around<br />
looking for water for him.<br />
“My son didn’t want to<br />
register as a voter but after<br />
running for his life at the<br />
Bersih 3.0 rally he finally understood<br />
what thousands of<br />
Malaysians are fighting for<br />
and registered himself,” said<br />
55-year-old BG Sundari.
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