Opposition parliamentarians today submitted a memorandum to the Conference of Malay Rulers to step up pressure in calling for the resignation of the Election Commission chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman.

PAS vice-president and Parit Buntar member of parliament Dr Hassan Ali said the rulers' council is an appropriate venue to address the issue since - as stipulated in the federal constitution - the King appoints the EC chief on the advise of the country's nine sultans.

"The memorandum is to register our protest and dissatisfaction that the EC collaborated with Puteri Umno and appoint these members as part-time administrative assistants," he said in a press conference held at the Parliament's lobby this morning.

EC-Puteri Umno 'collusion'

Hassan also called for a setting up of an independent tribunal to probe into the allegations of the EC-Puteri Umno 'secret collusion', which was revealed by PAS last week.

"It has come to a stage where action has to be taken against the EC.... This issue must be addressed, otherwise the whole election process and its credibility can be put into question," he said.

"Their (Puteri Umno and EC) justification was they were recruiting those unemployed graduates but my question is why they didn't make the same offer to other unemployed graduates and carry out the recruitment openly?" the PAS leader asked.

Hassan also said that the opposition Barisan Alternative front has identified strategies to further pursue the EC scandal, but declined to elaborate.

The delegation of seven this morning was led by Hassan, and consist of PAS' Mahfuz Omar (Pokok Sena), Kamaruddin Jaafar (Tumpat), Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi (Kuala Terengganu), and Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (Keadilan) Abdul Rahman Yusof (Kemaman), Saupi Daud (Tanah Merah) and Ramli Ibrahim (Kota Bharu).

The memorandum was received by the Keeper of the Ruler's Seal Ungku Ibrahim Ngah at his office in Jalan Bukit Petaling near Istana Negara (national palace).

'Secret' letters

The EC-Puteri Umno 'collusion' came into media limelight after Mahfuz told a press conference last Monday that the commission was recruiting members from the ruling party's young women's wing.

To support his allegation, the MP disclosed a letter by EC deputy secretary Patimah Mohd Yusof to all state election officers, asking them to adhere to "normal" procedures in hiring these Umno Puteri assistants (right).

She also wanted them to treat her letter as "secret", and instructed that it not to be kept in an open file of the officers.

Two days later, PAS further distributed copies of letter titled 'employment candidates to the EC', which they claimed was from Puteri Umno chief Azalina Othman Said to the EC chief on the hiring of the wing's members as election workers.

However Abdul Rashid yesterday defended his decision to hire the Puteri Umno members, claiming it was done without any hidden agenda.

On Saturday, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail issued a warning that parliamentarians are not immune to the Official Secrets Act, which provides for a mandatory one-year jail sentence for the possession of government information classified as 'secret'.

EC chief Abdul Rashid told malaysiakini yesterday that the commission would lodge a police report on the leakage of the 'secret' documents.

PAS MP Hassan however argued that the documents distributed to the press have not been classified under the OSA.

New twist

Meanwhile, later in the day, PAS vice president Mustafa Ali said that the party had accepted Abdul Rashid's explanation and was willing to let the matter rest.

He added that PAS will cease its calls for the removal of Abdul Rashid in the interest of having a smooth general election. He told this to the press after a meeting with Abdul Rashid at the EC office in Putrajaya on the proposed code of ethics for the coming general election.

When asked about why the memorandum was then submitted to the Rulers in the morning, Mustafa said the memorandum was sent by another delegation, who were unaware of what had transpired at the meeting in Putrajaya which ended at 3pm.

"So the team that met the Rulers did not know of the decision (to rest the matter). As to the status of the memorandum, we have to wait and see before we can make a decision," he explained.

Decision welcomed

In another development, Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail commended the recent decision by the EC to lift the 25-year ban on public rally during election campaigns where now, it is left to the police to issue permits.

However, Wan Azizah urged the police to carry out their task impartially when issuing such permits.

"The new policy should apply equally to all, regardless it is ruling party or the opposition," she told reporters in the Parliament's lobby.