Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor insisted today that the Election Commission (EC) has the final say in deciding whether or not to allow political parties to monitor the casting of postal votes in military and police bases.

He explained that this is because the commission is an "independent authority" in relation to making decisions on election matters.

However, he also said the EC usually holds consultations with ruling and oppositions parties and the government prior to decisions being made.

"I believe the EC is still studying the proposal and that a decision will be announced later," he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby this afternoon.

The minister was asked to comment on contradictory statements issued by his department and EC chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman on whether political parties representatives would be allowed to monitor the casting of postal votes.

In an exclusive interview with malaysiakini early this month, the EC head said he had requested that political parties be allowed to monitor the process and that Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak was deliberating the matter.

However, last Friday malaysiakini quoted a parliamentary reply from the PM's Department that the armed forces had rejected the proposal on the grounds that EC officials are already present to ensure that the voting process adheres to rules and regulations.

Explanation offered

Tengku Adnan had mentioned the postal voting issue during his winding-up speech in the Dewan Rakyat.

The PM's Department is the first agency to reply to points raised during the debate on the Budget 2004 proposals over the past two weeks. Three days have been set aside for the winding-up speeches by various ministries.

Tengku Adnan said the defence ministry had held a meeting with the EC to discuss ways of enhancing the confidence of political parties in relation to the postal voting process.

According to the EC, there were about 151,000 police postal votes and 83,000 army postal votes in the last general election.

Tengku Adnan also said the EC is an independent body, despite the commission's credibility coming under question in the wake of allegations that it had colluded with Puteri Umno over a secret arrangement to recruit the wing's members.

The issue has been hotly debated in the House, following PAS' allegation that the commission had collaborated with Puteri Umno to appoint its members as administrative assistants for the forthcoming general election.

Tengku Adnan said the EC had explained to opposition parties during a meeting on Sept 17 that it had cancelled the exercise.

"The EC stressed that the perception (of opposition parliamentarians) was incorrect because these Puteri Umno applications were not for assistants during the elections, but as part-time administrative assistants (outside the election period)," he said.

Career prospects

However, his reply did not satisfy opposition parliamentarians, who repeatedly stood up and asked if the exercise could ensure the independence of EC.

Backbencher Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) then launched a rescue attempt, saying: "The EC hired them because they are unemployed undergraduates. It was just a coincidence that they were also Puteri Umno members, what's wrong (with that)? If they had coincidentally been PAS members, what then?"

During the press conference, Tengku Adnan remarked that the allegations should not deter the EC from hiring Puteri Umno members as part-time administrative assistants in future.

"If they submit their job applications, fulfill all the (employment) criteria, and have the professionalism to handle the job, then they are eligible. I don't know why the agency should reject their applications," he said.

"They are fresh graduates and they need jobs, (so) what's wrong with hiring them?"