Room for improving voting process, campaigning ethics for free and fair elections: MARUAH to ELD
Daniel Goh, Workers’ Party candidate.
Human rights advocacy group MARUAH has written a letter to Mr Lee Seng Lup, Head of the Elections Department, to call for more stringent requirements on the balloting process, and for clarity on the guidelines for media houses covering the election in the wake of the latest incident where Mr Daniel Goh from the Workers’ Party was questioned about an alleged extramarital affair by publications under the Singapore Press Holding.
The letter, also published on MARUAH’s Facebook page, sought ELD’s clarification on the sealing of ballot boxes, guidelines for re-entry of polling and counting agents, procedures for checking samples of ballots, and called for samples to be provided to help officials decide on unconfirmed ballots.
MARUAH also questioned the new rules of disallowing leaders of a political party from speaking at rallies organised by other parties, calling it “deplorable”.
“There is no plausible reason for the rules on grounds of public order or safety,” said MARUAH. “This rule is a gross violation of Singaporeans’ right to free speech.”
Noting that certain parties have come together to jointly contest in wards, such as the Singapore People’s Party and the Democratic Progressive Party in Bishan Toa Payoh GRC, MARUAH said that this is “unfair to the two opposition parties”.
“While this rule was apparently made for a short-term political purpose, it has long-term implications in that it creates a barrier by administrative fiat to the establishment of coalitions between political parties in Singapore despite the fact that there is no constitutional or statutory basis for doing so.”
MARUAH also questioned ELD’s standards on media houses for what they can publish that can potentially damage candidates, given that there are currently similar guidelines for political parties governing ethical practices.
MARUAH’s letter is appended in full below. CONTINUE >>
It is not cool for any political party to hijack the Bersih 4 rally and carelessly add on another demand at the very last minute. Here’s looking at you PKR and PKR Youth. You are not the organisers.
Alyaa Alhadjri, The Ant Daily
Let’s get a few things straight. Because clearly, thinking straight is not something that some people seem particularly capable of doing at this very moment.
Firstly, a peaceful rally cannot topple the government.
Let that sink in for a while.
Done? Good, let’s move on.
Any attempt to occupy a public space is not a threat to the government.
Any attempt to occupy a public space is certainly not a threat to democracy.
Section 124B of the Penal Code that criminalises any attempts to allegedly topple the government makes no mention of any such specific attempt.
Section 124B also makes no mention of camping being a crime, even when done outside Parliament – one of the pillars of the country’s democratic institutions.
There may be legitimate reasons to arrest 16 student activists on Aug 26 but certainly not for being any sort of threat to democracy.
Indeed they are practising one of the core precepts in any democracy – that of expressing dissent.
Once again, moving on.
Not all protesters are activists.
Not all protesters are political party members.
Not all protesters are wannabe leaders.
But we can be assured of the following facts:
The people have a right to peacefully assemble.
The authorities have a duty to facilitate a peaceful assembly.
The elected government and leaders have a responsibility to respond to the people’s demand.
With that out of the way, here are a few more things to consider.
To the Home Ministry, Bersih 4 is not a registered organisation and never will be.
Contrary to claims by Home Ministry secretary-general Alwi Ibrahim, a non-existent organisation cannot trigger unrests, disrupt the peace or threaten public’s safety.
The organisers of this weekend’s rally is Bersih 2.0, supported by civil society groups and political parties.
That’s right. The key word is “supported”.
It is not cool for any political party to hijack the Bersih 4 rally and carelessly add on another demand at the very last minute.
Here’s looking at you PKR and PKR Youth. You are not the organisers.
PKR and its members may still want to “free Anwar” but they can’t claim to speak for everybody else.
Especially not for the ordinary Malaysians who are already wary of such ‘hijacking’ attempts.
They are giving Bersih 4 a bad name.
We are not political tools. The people are not your political tools.
PKR, however, seems to think that it’s okay to tag along and add its own demand to the day’s agenda.
Newsflash. It’s not okay.
It is exactly this sort of attitude that can be used as a weapon to vilify Bersih 2.0 and Bersih 4 participants as nothing more than mere rabble rousers, manipulated for an individual’s personal agenda.
Everyone who has made up their mind to come out this weekend – be it to camp for 34 hours or otherwise – will each have their own personal reason to do.
And for those who made up their mind to not come out, they will have their reasons too.
No one person is bigger than the cause. But each and every one counts when it comes to protecting and celebrating our democracy.
Let’s just get that straight.
Original here .. SOME THINGS WE NEED TO GET RIGHT ABOUT BERSIH 4
YES. You got that right. My name is Jason Chin and I am of Chinese descent. Yet, I openly declare that I will never support nor cast a vote for the Democratic Action Party (DAP). Let me also assure you that I am not the only Chinese who will never support DAP. There are many others like me out there who do not voice their opinion, as they are afraid they will be ridiculed and labeled ‘Anti-Chinese’.
Please allow me to get straight to the point. The reason I will never support DAP is because they are the most sophisticated, spineless bunch of people with absolutely no integrity. Well, maybe not all of them but Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng certainly are.
Testaments that DAP have no integrity
From 1952-1969 Malaya’s strongest opposition party was The Labour Party that was infested by communists. During the 1969 general elections The Labour Party boycotted the elections and that left the opposition front to consist of DAP, Gerakan, PPP and PMIP/PAS. During the campaigning period, The Labour Party threw all their support behind DAP. This in itself will tell you the very essence of DAP. DAP has communist ideology in their DNA.
In The National Operations Council (NOC) Report post 1969 racial riots, it was clearly mentioned that on 11 May 1969, DAP held numerous processions all of which were without police permits. Those in attendance were provoking harsh racial sentiments. These illegal rallies were [said to be] the root cause of the May 13 riots. Although Lim Kit Siang continues to say he was not in the country during those dates, he has not rebuked the fact that DAP through their intimidating rallies led to the bloodshed of May 13. There are pictures (on the internet) of DAP Secretary-General Goh Hock Guan holding the Rocket flag and parading across the streets of Kuala Lumpur prior to the riots. The older generation who lived through the riots know exactly how DAP propagated hatred among the people that eventually led to the darkest day in the history of Malaysia.
With the common enemy being Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Lim Kit Siang has offered to befriend his arch-enemy, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. When Mahathir mocked Lim’s action and said he would never work with the Opposition, Kit Siang started to upload anti-Mahathir articles on his blog. What a loser!
Let’s not even mention Lim Kit Siang’s publicity stunt with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) recently. He called a truce with another organization that Lim only had harsh words for in the past. May the souls of Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed rest in peace especially after DAP’s supposed solidarity with MACC.
Lim Kit Siang goes to Kelantan and delivers a speech against Hudud to the Muslims there and DAP claims there is nothing racist about that action which was ridiculed by Tok Guru Nik Aziz’s son. If the same were to occur where a non-Chinese went to Penang and spoke against the Chinese culture, Lim Guan Eng would throw a fit. Whether you like it or not, Hudud is an Islamic law and we should all respect that. Speaking against hudud openly is relative to speaking against Islam and that action violates the fundamentals of our country’s constitution. Had Mahathir been in power, Kit Siang would be immediately arrested under the Sedition Act.
When Najib sacked ministers and deputy ministers from their respective posts for allegedly not throwing support behind him, he was widely condemned especially by DAP and their Opposition coalition partners. They say it is abuse of power. However, when Lim Guan Eng sacks PAS council members from the Penang State Government after PAS decided against working with DAP, nobody said anything. Isn’t Guan Eng’s action the same, just different circumstances?
When Najib and Rosmah filed a defamation suit against Rafizi Ramli, they were mocked for their action. It was said that being a public figure, he should not sue someone for words spoken but instead address them professionally. However, when Lim Guan End sues Utusan Malaysia, Free Malaysia Today and Malaysia Kini for defamation it is deemed acceptable. Clear-cut double-standards. Guan Eng got a taste of his own medicine when the Penang High Court recently ordered him to pay RM500, 000 in damages to BN’s Datuk Jahara Hamid for calling her a “racist grandmother”. A true leader should never utter such words.
When Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang urged the public to not react hastily against Najib, DAP called him ‘the enemy’ and accused him of being pro-Najib. However, today, when Johor DAP extends an offer of working together with UMNO Johor, it is again acceptable. Johor DAP has said outright they are pro-Johor BN. These bunch of shameless people would go to any extent to be in power.
Guan Eng again plays to publicity when he continues to condemn Israeli aggression on Palestinians. However, he did not utter a word this year when China banned Ramadan fasting in Muslim-dominated areas in the country. While Guan Eng did express dissatisfaction to the same in 2014, he was rather quiet this year. After being vocal last year and sharing very close ties with China, what action did Guan Eng take to ensure this draconian rule does not occur again? Even I can speak over a microphone and pass comments.
I can go on and on citing examples that show DAP is clueless and has no nobility. Above mentioned are just a few examples. I admit that the country needs a new leader but by no means the leader should come from DAP. After Mahathir, Malaysia does not need another communist regime.
I would like to urge the media to not shy away from speaking against DAP or the Opposition when they are wrong. Do not be afraid of legal suits. After all, freedom of speech and freedom of media is what we are all calling for, right? Let Guan Eng continue suing for defamation. At least citizens can see how big a hypocrite he is when he urges free press but sues when the press is indeed free.
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