EC must be independent

Independent EC not new voter roll that is needed

After much uproar and protests over the voters’ list over the years, the Election Commission (EC) Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman has finally proposed to go for a fresh voter roll that will involve the re-registration of the 10.9 million Malaysians who are already registered as voters. This although commendable, is a massive operation that would require a considerable amount of money and resources. After all that what is the guarantee that the new voters’ list will be trouble-free?

The electoral roll has been a major source of unhappiness of the opposition all these years. If EC is sincere in wanting to overcome its flaws it must seriously look into these grouses and make genuine attempts to overcome them. Some of these include the problems related to multiple voting, phantom and postal voters, which have cast serious doubts on the integrity and impartiality of the EC of late.

It is just not merely the electoral list per say but the functioning of the commission as a whole that needs to be looked into. There is a general perception that the EC is not truly independent as it should be. This has been the main grouse of the various election watch groups that have been formed recently to scrutinize our general elections. Whether it is true or otherwise, the EC must try to change that perception among the people. It must not only be non-partisan but seen to be so and its decisions must not be influenced by any political party.

It should ensure all parties, ruling and opposition; adhere to the rules of the election process without exception. If this independence cannot be assured whatever new electoral roll that it may create will only be in vain. The sudden and unexplained last minute cancellation of the use of indelible ink in the recent elections goes to show this lack of independence of the EC which has tarnished its image to a great extent.

It is timely for the EC to seriously consider automatic registration of voters once they attain the eligible age as ascertained by their Mykads. With the sophisticated computerization today this registration process should pose no major problem. In fact such a procedure would be more convenient for the voters and less costly for taxpayers. It will not only get rid of the problems of biasness in the voters’ list but it will also ensure all eligible citizens, regardless of social status, ethnicity and political ideology, are given a fair opportunity to vote in an election. Registration to vote should not be an option but whether to vote and who to vote should be.

A fresh voter list may be a good idea but it will be costly, messy and above all will not eliminate all the same problems of the current list if the EC itself does not rise above politics. In this regards there is a need for only people of high credibility and commitment to be appointed as members and chairman of the EC.

The EC must sit down with all parties concerned to come up with the best ways possible to ensure a truly independent, transparent and non-partisan body that will put the interest of the rakyat above any individual or party in carrying out the duties entrusted without any fear or favor.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Repeal not review the ISA

ISA Evil and Obsolete

I refer to “Zaid : ISA being reviewed” (Star,May 23).

We welcome the announcement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, that the Internal Security Act(ISA) is being reviewed. Although it falls far short of the people’s expectations to have it repealed, nevertheless it is an indication of the government’s compromising stand that is unprecedented with regards to the ISA. Hopefully it is a sign that the Abdullah administration is finally reacting to the call of the rakyat. Its willingness to review certain provisions of the ISA hopefully marks the beginning of the process leading to its ultimate abolition.

One of the laws that the people have opposed so aggressively over the last 20 years is the draconian ISA that empowers the government to detain anyone for up to 2 years without trial or justification whatsoever but mere suspicion of being a threat to national security. The vehement opposition not only comes from the Opposition parties,NGOs and various human rights groups from within and outside the country but most significantly of late from the rakyat themselves, regardless of their race, religion and political ideology. These groups have voiced their opposition in no uncertain ways including resorting to demonstrations and street protests but to no avail.

We have come a long way, fighting the colonialists, the communist insurgency and Japanese occupation. At that time, there was no way of identifying the enemy and we needed a law like the ISA to detain someone on mere suspicion of subversion, to protect the nation and the people. Today we do not have such enemies of the state anymore as we are all loyal citizens of an independent and sovereign nation with its own laws and code of ethics.

We have a legitimately elected government and an opposition, to represent the people in a duly established and respected parliament. We have an independent police force and judiciary to enforce and punish those guilty of subversion. We have sufficient laws to act against anyone who threatens the security of the nation, why do need to resort to arrest and punish someone without proving his guilt? Isn’t that a grievous breach of the basic human rights of an individual?

We are all aware that the ISA had been abused for political reasons by those in power. Not only politicians but professionals, members of Non-governmental Organisations(NGO),students, educationists and even religious and spiritual leaders have been detained under the ISA for questioning the injustices and abuses of the government and championing the rights of the people. Not only are they detained under deplorable living conditions but they are subjected to severe physical and mental torture like hard-core criminals.

Pak Lah has shown a great deal of tolerance to opposing views as shown by various groups being bold to voice out controversial views unlike before. It is unfortunate that this increased space for freedom granted is construed as a sign of weakness by his critics when in actual fact it reflects an increasing maturity of Malaysians.

We hope Pak Lah will take the extra step to demonstrate that tolerance and maturity not only review but ultimately abolish the much dreaded ISA. As a gesture to acknowledge his willingness to listen to the rakyat, Pak Lah should first release all ISA detainees and reassure the people that he will not resort to the draconian ISA in future.

This will go a long way to win the hearts of the people which he needs very badly at the moment. The people are his greatest strength and he can only tap onto that strength by heeding their calls which is very loud and clear – Abolish the ISA .

Dr.Chris Anthony

Dr.M undoing his legacy

Dr.M should stop ranting and raving

If there is a single person who had profoundly influenced our lives and those of our children it is none other than our former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. In fact many of our children have never known any other Prime Minister other than him. At an age when people usually retire gracefully, leave the public scene, take care of their health and enjoy their lives with children and grand children, Dr.M at 82,has chosen the arduous path to continue to actively’ serve’ the nation and the people in his own ways by even willing to go jail.

Now he has a drastic step to resign from Umno, the party which he was a member since its formation 62 years ago and its undisputed leader for 22 years, just to achieve his aim of overthrowing his hand-picked successor turned nemesis and prevent Anwar from becoming prime minister. We admire him for his fighting spirit and endless efforts to put things right in his own way.

Reacting to the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Video scandal,Dr.M wants the opportunity in court to expose the misdeeds of judges. As the PM he was responsible for the appointment of judges and if there were discrepancies in that he too is also responsible for it although the offence could have been committed by the judges themselves.Why didn’t he act against these errant judges like he did against Tun Salleh Abbas and his colleagues?

Lobbying for appointments and promotions invariably breeds corruption and supporting a system that encourages such practices is wrong as promotions and appointments should be awarded based on seniority unless there are genuine reasons to deny that to the person next in line.

It would be grave mistake for Dr.M to think the whole country; in particular those who disagree with him, are against him and out to ‘fix’ him. On the contrary a vast majority of Malaysians, young and old from all races have great respect for him as a capable leader who brought much development to the nation.

I do not think Malaysians are cruel enough in wanting him to be hauled into court and charged like a common criminal for the wrongs he might have done. Who does not make mistakes? All leaders however great they may be do make mistakes and wrong judgments occasionally. No one however powerful and brilliant is invincible or indispensable.

Mahathir’s fears that the Malays will lose their rights and privileges if Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi remains as Prime Minister or of the Opposition takes over power is unfounded. How can their rights be taken away when those are guaranteed in the Federal Constitution and accepted by all? In fact his practice of using such imaginary threats like the West, the Jews and the own non-Malay citizens is the cause of the predicament of Umno today.

Using such imaginary threats to unite the Malays which were successful before is not going to work anymore with the younger generation who are better informed and want a formula that will guarantee lasting peace in a multiracial Malaysia. Will myopic and skewed racial politics ever provide that lasting peace that new generations of Malaysians yearn for?

I am sure Dr.M has enough wisdom and foresight to realize the nation is slowly evolving into a multiracial one and he should not stand in the way to stop that metamorphosis. As a former PM and elder leader he should stop his ranting and raving and instead work towards building a new Malaysia which does not identify its citizens by ethnicity but by their true loyalty and patriotism.If he fails to that and keep insisting on blaming everybody else,other than himself,he will only be undoing his own legacy as the Bapa Kemodenan.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Dr.M should stop ranting and raving

Work towards the creation of a new Malaysia

If there is a single person who had profoundly influenced our lives and those of our children it is none other than our former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.At an age when people usually retire gracefully, leave the public scene, take care of their health and enjoy their lives with children and grand children, Dr.M at 82,has chosen the arduous path to continue to actively serve the nation and the people by even willing to go to court to reveal the unhealthy practices in the government. We salute him for his fighting spirit and endless efforts to put things right in his own way.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad (in grey bush jacket) with supporters at the Johor Baru (Picture from MalaysianInsider)

Dr.M wants the opportunity in court to explain many things that the judges did. It is a fact that he was the Prime Minister when the allegations of the Lingam video scandal really took place in 2001.As the PM he was responsible for the appointment of judges and if there were discrepancies in that he is also responsible for it although the offence could have been committed by the judges themselves. Exposing the judges for their misbehavior would also tantamount to incriminating himself as well. Why didn’t he act against these errant judges like he did against Tun Salleh Abbas and his colleagues?

Lobbying for appointments and promotions by itself may not be wrong but the intentions with which it was done can surely be. Supporting a system that encourages lobbying is wrong as promotions and appointments should be awarded based on seniority unless there is a genuine reasons to deny that to the person next in line.

It would be grave mistake for Dr.M to think the whole country; in particular those who disagree with him, are against him and out to ‘fix’ him. On the contrary a vast majority of Malaysians, young and old from all races have great respect for him as a capable leader who brought much development to the nation which helped to earn the respect of the world. In fact many of our children have never known any other Prime Minister other than him.

I do not think Malaysians are cruel enough in wanting him to be hauled into court and charged like a common criminal for the wrongs he might have done. Who does not make mistakes? All leaders however great they may be do make mistakes and wrong judgments occasionally. The people will never forget the tremendous good that he has done not only for the Malays but the non-Malays as well.

Mahathir’s fears that the Malays will lose their rights and privileges if Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi remains as Prime Minister or of the Opposition takes over power is unfounded. How can their rights be taken away when those are guaranteed in the Federal Constitution and accepted by all? Using such imaginary threats to unite the Malays which were successful before is not going to work anymore with the younger generation who are better informed and want a formula that will guarantee lasting peace in a multiracial Malaysia. Will myopic and skewed racial politics ever provide that lasting peace that new generation of Malaysians yearns? History had shown that multiracialism is the key to lasting inter-ethnic harmony all over the world.

I am sure Dr.M has enough wisdom and foresight to realize the nation is slowly evolving into a multiracial one and he should not stand in the way to stop that. The time has come for us to do away with confrontation methods to solve our inter-ethnic problems but rather opt for dialogue and goodwill instead.

Dr.M should stop his ranting and raving and instead work towards building a new Malaysia which does not identify its citizens by ethnicity but by their true loyalty and patriotism. If he fails to do that he will be undoing his own legacy as one the greatest prime ministers the nation ever had.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Lingam Tape : government must act to gain credibility

Does the government has the political will to act ?

With much pressure from the public the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry report on the V.K. Lingam video clip is finally out, ending months of controversy and uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of the commission itself. The cabinet especially the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim must be commended for making the report public.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry found evidence to implicate prominent government and judicial figures, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk V.K. Lingam, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Umno secretary-general and Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, and former chief justices Tun Eusoff Chin and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, being involved in a conspiracy to manipulate the appointment of judges and has called for further investigation of these individuals into their roles in the scandal.

The revelation deals a major blow to the reputation of our judiciary and bolsters allegations by many legal experts and opposition leaders that judicial corruption has tainted verdicts over more than a decade. This is a very serious finding that cannot be ignored by the government if it is really serious in wanting to reform the judiciary as it has wowed to do so.

The ball is at the court of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail who has promised to act accordingly. The is skepticism whether Gani Patail can carry out this important task to investigate these VIPs. The people are watching the developments very closely and would never accept anything other than justice and fair play as there is a dire need to restore the integrity and confidence of the people in the judiciary that has been so badly tainted by the Lingam video scandal.

The public, including the media, should allow the investigation process to proceed uninterrupted without undue pressure or any prejudice against any individuals but at the same time they must be able to see for themselves that justice is done.

The Royal Commission findings provide a golden opportunity for the BN government to regain the support of the people that has been on the decline lately. If it can act without fear or favour against those who have tainted the judiciary, it would be a sure way to regain that support. If these people in elevated positions who were entrusted to safeguard the people are found to have betrayed them instead, they must be punished regardless of their social standing as everybody is equal in the eyes of the law.

At the same time, cases that were heard by Tun Eusoff Chin and Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, during this critical period in question need to be reviewed. Those who were victims of the conspiracy must be vindicated. I am sure there are more people involved since they would have used these 'assisted service' to gain judgment in their favour.

The government has no option but to act to regain its credibility. The question that lingers in everybody’s mind is whether Barisan Nasional government has the political will to do it? Well it must find that will if it wants to remain relevant and continue to rule.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Opting for multiracial politics

Race based politics obselete

At the 62^nd Anniversary of Umno,its president,Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, called on its members to counter the notion that they are arrogant and corrupt.Instead of heeding his call that is apt and timely and trying to win back their hearts with proactive reforms, Umno is trying to use all forms of tactics, including racial, to break-up the Opposition that is promoting a multiracialism. Its attempts to resurrect senstive issues of the past are very disturbing and go against the aspirations of the rakyat themselves.

Some of the issues that resurfaced recently are the special rights of Malays and loyalty the Rulers. Due to some losses in the recent polls,Umno claims that the special rights of the Malays are being threatened by the non-Malays. This is absurd as we all know there is no way anyone can pose such threats as these rights and special privileges are enshrined in the Federal Constitution and accepted by all races. It would be unfair for Umno to harp on these imaginary external threats to just garner the support of the Malays.

The call for action against DAP Chairman Karpal Singh for his comments on the rights of the Perak Sultan,is an attempt to imply that the non-Malays are disrespectful and not loyal to the Malay Rulers. This is not only utter nonsense but unfair and malicious. The Institution of the Monarchy has become part of the Malaysian culture, for Malays and non-Malays alike. Loyalty to the Rulers is a provision in the Rukun Negara and accepted by all. History has shown that the non-Malays have also turned to the Rulers for help, pardon and protection of their fundamental rights from time to time.

It is wrong for Umno to question the loyalty of non-Malay Malaysians after fifty years of working together in building the nation. We did that, not as Malays, Chinese or Indians, but as Malaysians and the people have demonstrated this unprecedented unity by rising above their racial divide to vote for multiracial system of governance. It is the duty of the political parties to ensure that these aspirations of the people are achieved. Politicians must not destroy what the people have achieved all these years together.

It is ironical that when we are outside the country we are identified as Malaysians but within our own country we are constantly being reminded of our ethnic origins. It is time for us to change the mindset to accept each other as Malaysians and work to create leaders who can represent the interests of all the races.

The only way to eradicate this race-based politics is to open up ethnic-based parties to all races to become truly multiracial where everyone’s rights are guaranteed as provided for by the constitution. There should not be a need for any particular community to ‘fight’ for its basic rights as they should be granted automatically without any impediment.

Umno should not regard fellow non-Malay Malaysians as a threat to their well being. It should not succumb to some imaginary external threat that is non-existent. It should instead get its acts together, regain its power and influence to get back the support of the people of all races.Umno may have its duty towards the Malays but being the dominant party in the ruling coalition, it also has the responsibility to ensure the minorities are treated fairly as rightful citizens.

Umno might have been formed by a strong spirit of Malay nationalism that prevailed at the time of independence but the time has come for it to adopt and radiate a true Malaysian nationalism that incorporates all the races of peninsula and east Malaysia. It should lead BN to embrace a multiracial approach to champion the rights of all regardless of race or creed.

The world is moving away racial politics which is becoming obsolete and it is time for us to do the same. In this respect it may be timely for Umno to revisit the era of its founder, Onn Jaafar and look for ways and means to fulfill his aspirations by opening its doors to all Malaysians regardless of their ethnicity. A multiracial BN is what the people want and that is what is going to relevant in the future.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Anwar defends morality of crossovers

Anwar defends morality of crossovers (Malaysiakini)

Anwar is very right about the issue of morality of political cross-overs.

UMNO is desperate and is resorting to unethical tactics to split the Pakatan. These are

1. race and religious politics - instilling ill-feeling among the races
2. bringing in the royalty into politics and hiding behind them
3.depriving the PR states their dues,cutting the projects and allocations
4.Refusing to heed the call of the people to release ISA detainees and abolish ISA
5.refusing freedom of expression,
and many more.The list is endless.

We must change the Federal government id we want to implement fresh policies that are fair to all races.I think we have no choice but to accept cross-overs to form the new government.It would be for the benefit of all.

We have no option but save the nation from going into ruins.The only way out is to form a new government.We cannot expect reforms by the very regime that caused all the problems.