An NGO has backed the court action by Universiti Malaya economics professor K. S. Jomo to seek for the recent general elections be declared illegitimate because 680,000 new voters were not allowed to participate in the polls.

"Even though the 1999 election is over, the long struggle for free and and fair elections, and to improve the quality of democracy in Malaysia has just begun," said Cheah Kah Seng, a member of the People Are the Boss Movement in Penang.

He added that his group would call a press conference on Thursday to hand a petition to the Election Commission as a show of support for the plight of the newly registered voters.

"We would like to echo the call by Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to the EC to improve their efficiency and to eliminate any unfairness in the election process, so as not to tarnish the democratic image of the country," said Ong Boon Keong, a spokesperson for the movement.

He also expressed the organisation's intention to hold a peaceful demonstration in conjunction with the court hearing of the EC's application to set aside Jomo's lawsuit on Dec 20.

"We hope to create more awareness and to call upon all citizens to support the newly registered voters to fight for their voting rights and the right to perform their citizen duty," said Ong. The petition included those who were disenfranchised in the Nov 29 poll.

"At present, we have four of the newly registered voters to support the petition," he said.

Jomo, who registered as a voter this year, had applied to the High Court to nullify the recent general election on the ground that he and 680,000 other newly registered voters were denied the right to vote.

The Election Commission filed an application to set aside the suit after it had entered a conditional appearance on Nov 23, where it argued that Jomo's action was an abuse of the court's process and was frivolous and vexatious.