E-voting: Silent majority decides, says Khaled
Rahmah GhazaliPublished: Jan 30, 2010 2:39 PM | Updated: Jan 30, 2010 3:36 PM
Running true to form, Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin jumped into the Universiti Malaya campus elections mess with both feet, declaring that protesting students had been taking the law into their own hands.
Running true to form, Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin jumped into the Universiti Malaya campus elections mess with both feet, declaring that protesting students had been taking the law into their own hands.
He also unequivocally stated that the silent majority supporting the e-voting system, the centre of a raging controversy, still exists, without elaborating.
Speaking to reporters after launching Real Leaders Conference in Putrajaya today, the minister said that the students involved should readily accept the election results even when not in their favour.
"If we are so brave in taking part in (an election), we also should be brave enough to accept the results... I can't understand why the students somehow expected they would win," said Khaled (right).
He stressed that the issue of e-voting being easily manipulated does not arise as the majority of local universities have been using the campus election system for years.
"Only four to five universities have not utilised the system. But UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia) and UIA (Universiti Islam Antarabangsa), have been using it for the longest time and they never protested (when they lost)," said Khaled.
He, however, believed that there are proper avenues for the students to voice their disappointment over the system instead of resorting to demonstrations.
"I believe there are ways for the students to voice out their concern, but unfortunately they would rather take the law into their own hands," said the hardline minister.
Campus polls this year were hot, especially in UM, where the pro-students group staged a protest yesterday against the e-voting system, which they alleged had an element of abuse.
This was further aggravated when they lost to traditional rivals the pro-aspiration (pro-government) group by four seats in the latest election.
‘Are they God?'
Khaled also had stinging criticism for the students, saying that they have no authority to determine election results.
"They demonstrated as though they knew they would win. But in a democracy, the power is not in our hands, but the voters, who are the students in this case."
They should not jump to conclusion unless they have strong evidence to prove that the e-voting system was rigged, he said.
If they fail to substantiate their claims, said Khaled, they should just accept defeat.
"Even after we leave the university one day and contest on a political party ticket, would we stage a protest if we were defeated?
"If we do that, then the democracy is dead. Who says that the victory will always be on our side. Are we God?" said Khaled.
The students should not point a finger at the university administration for their defeat,he said.
"It saddens me because UM has been in this condition for a long time now. Even I, as a UM graduate, did not do that when I contested in campus polls," he said.
He also unequivocally stated that the silent majority supporting the e-voting system, the centre of a raging controversy, still exists, without elaborating.
Speaking to reporters after launching Real Leaders Conference in Putrajaya today, the minister said that the students involved should readily accept the election results even when not in their favour."If we are so brave in taking part in (an election), we also should be brave enough to accept the results... I can't understand why the students somehow expected they would win," said Khaled (right).
He stressed that the issue of e-voting being easily manipulated does not arise as the majority of local universities have been using the campus election system for years.
"Only four to five universities have not utilised the system. But UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia) and UIA (Universiti Islam Antarabangsa), have been using it for the longest time and they never protested (when they lost)," said Khaled.
He, however, believed that there are proper avenues for the students to voice their disappointment over the system instead of resorting to demonstrations.
"I believe there are ways for the students to voice out their concern, but unfortunately they would rather take the law into their own hands," said the hardline minister.
Campus polls this year were hot, especially in UM, where the pro-students group staged a protest yesterday against the e-voting system, which they alleged had an element of abuse.
This was further aggravated when they lost to traditional rivals the pro-aspiration (pro-government) group by four seats in the latest election.
‘Are they God?'
Khaled also had stinging criticism for the students, saying that they have no authority to determine election results.
"They demonstrated as though they knew they would win. But in a democracy, the power is not in our hands, but the voters, who are the students in this case."They should not jump to conclusion unless they have strong evidence to prove that the e-voting system was rigged, he said.
If they fail to substantiate their claims, said Khaled, they should just accept defeat.
"Even after we leave the university one day and contest on a political party ticket, would we stage a protest if we were defeated?"If we do that, then the democracy is dead. Who says that the victory will always be on our side. Are we God?" said Khaled.
The students should not point a finger at the university administration for their defeat,he said.
"It saddens me because UM has been in this condition for a long time now. Even I, as a UM graduate, did not do that when I contested in campus polls," he said.
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