Nazri backs EC proposal on overseas voters
Kuek Ser Kuang KengPublished: Sep 5, 2011 6:47 AM | Updated: Sep 5, 2011 11:01 AM
The Election Commission (EC)'s proposal to extend voting rights to all overseas Malaysians has received the support of Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
The Election Commission (EC)'s proposal to extend voting rights to all overseas Malaysians has received the support of Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
However the de facto law minister stressed that the proposal should be discussed and decided by the soon-to-be-formed parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform.
Nazri welcomed the EC's proposal to expand the postal vote - from only civil servants and full-time students and their spouses currently - to all registered voters residing overseas.
"If it can be given to civil servants, why can't we give it to all the people overseas?" he said when contacted today.
However, Nazri noted that there may be an issue with logistics in the transfer of ballots back home to be counted, along with the rest on polling day.
He conceded that the proposal, together with the use of indelible ink, could be implemented by the government and EC without waiting for the PSC.
However, he said, he preferred to leave the matter in the hands of the bipartisan committee and would not, therefore, raise the matter at a cabinet meeting anytime soon.
The PSC, which will be set up during the next parliamentary sitting from Oct 3, was proposed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak last month as a result of intense pressure from the opposition and civil society to reform the electoral system.
The opposition has yet to decide whether or not to join the PSC, claiming that Najib had failed to show his commitment to electoral reform.
They want Najib to guarantee that the next election will only be held after the electoral reform measures recommended by PSC are implemented.
Change of mind
On the implementation of indelible ink, Nazri confirmed that constitutional amendment is not necessary.
"I have checked with the attorney-general’s (chambers). (There is) no need to amend the constitution. But it should be discussed by the PSC first," he said.
Last month, EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Yusof (left) told the media that if the use of indelible ink was to be made mandatory, a constitutional amendment would have to be tabled in Parliament and that it could only be passed with a two-thirds majority vote.
His predecessor, Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, had cited the same reason in cancelling the use of indelible ink just four days before polling for the 2008 general election.
Rashid had said the use of indelible ink could infringe the constitutional right of a voter to cast his vote, as the federal constitution allows those who refuse to have their fingernails marked with the ink to still be issued with a ballot.
He claimed that the loophole could only be removed through a constitutional amendment.
Rashid's argument was then backed by Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who apparently has changed his mind this time, according to Nazri.
According to a report in Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily on Aug 28, Nazri said he was told by Gani that the EC could implement the use of indelible ink by amending the regulation, without going through Parliament.
Nazri was also quoted as saying that indelible ink as the best solution to eliminate multiple voting, and that it is cheaper and less problematic than the biometric system that the government intends to introduce.
However the de facto law minister stressed that the proposal should be discussed and decided by the soon-to-be-formed parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform.
Nazri welcomed the EC's proposal to expand the postal vote - from only civil servants and full-time students and their spouses currently - to all registered voters residing overseas."If it can be given to civil servants, why can't we give it to all the people overseas?" he said when contacted today.
However, Nazri noted that there may be an issue with logistics in the transfer of ballots back home to be counted, along with the rest on polling day.
He conceded that the proposal, together with the use of indelible ink, could be implemented by the government and EC without waiting for the PSC.
However, he said, he preferred to leave the matter in the hands of the bipartisan committee and would not, therefore, raise the matter at a cabinet meeting anytime soon.
The PSC, which will be set up during the next parliamentary sitting from Oct 3, was proposed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak last month as a result of intense pressure from the opposition and civil society to reform the electoral system.The opposition has yet to decide whether or not to join the PSC, claiming that Najib had failed to show his commitment to electoral reform.
They want Najib to guarantee that the next election will only be held after the electoral reform measures recommended by PSC are implemented.
Change of mind
On the implementation of indelible ink, Nazri confirmed that constitutional amendment is not necessary.
"I have checked with the attorney-general’s (chambers). (There is) no need to amend the constitution. But it should be discussed by the PSC first," he said.
Last month, EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Yusof (left) told the media that if the use of indelible ink was to be made mandatory, a constitutional amendment would have to be tabled in Parliament and that it could only be passed with a two-thirds majority vote.His predecessor, Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, had cited the same reason in cancelling the use of indelible ink just four days before polling for the 2008 general election.
Rashid had said the use of indelible ink could infringe the constitutional right of a voter to cast his vote, as the federal constitution allows those who refuse to have their fingernails marked with the ink to still be issued with a ballot.
He claimed that the loophole could only be removed through a constitutional amendment.
Rashid's argument was then backed by Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who apparently has changed his mind this time, according to Nazri.According to a report in Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily on Aug 28, Nazri said he was told by Gani that the EC could implement the use of indelible ink by amending the regulation, without going through Parliament.
Nazri was also quoted as saying that indelible ink as the best solution to eliminate multiple voting, and that it is cheaper and less problematic than the biometric system that the government intends to introduce.
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