Penang state legislative assembly speaker Abdul Halim Hussein has called for a fixed date for the 13th general election to ensure that all parties contest on a level playing field.

NONEAbdul Halim (left) said that unless the government experiences a vote of no confidence in Parliament, snap polls should not be called.
In democratic countries, elections should not be determined according to the “whims and fancies” of the prime minister, he added.

He stressed that the nation should not be put on hold and weather “uncertainties” as people need to plan their lives around such a major event.

“The nation should not be held in limbo. In every normal life, people need to plan for such major events,” he told Malaysiakini.

“General elections affect everyone, including the civil service, who need to be prepared and plan for such events,” added Abdul Halim, who is also Penang PKR vice-chairperson.

“Having the rakyat guess when the election is does not show political maturity,” he quipped.

Wee says separate polls a waste of money

Abdul Halim was referring to MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong’s recent criticism of the Penang and Selangor Pakatan governments for their intention to hold their state elections separately if the general election is called before June next year.

NONEWee (right) said to hold state elections separately from the general election is not only time- consuming, but will cause taxpayers’ pockets to be lighter when huge public expenses need to be utilised.

He added that voters who were based outside their constituencies would also have to return twice to cast their votes.

On Sunday, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the state Pakatan leadership would only decide when to call for state polls after Najib announces the dissolution of Parliament.

Selangor Mentri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim announced last Thursday that no state election would be held before June next year. However, should Parliament be dissolved after that,  Selangor may follow suit.

‘Snap polls undemocratic’

Meanwhile, Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow finds Wee’s criticism “illogical, immaterial, and not worthy of consideration”.

Any unilateral and sudden call for national elections to be held is undemocratic and irresponsible on the part of the ruling federal government, Chow said.

He added that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration that has yet to deliver on the various promises of “transformation”, including a pledge to abolish the Internal Security Act as well as studying reforms for the electoral system.

NONE“I am of the opinion that snap polls (elections are not due until 2013) are an unnecessary waste of taxpayers’ money. Does not Najib have the confidence to go the full term?” questioned Chow (left), who is a Penang state executive councillor.

“Or is he banking on the goodies and sweeteners dished out in Budget 2012 to act as temporary measures for him to manufacture a Barisan Nasional win?” he asked.

“What about misuse of government machinery during elections? These are not just a waste of taxpayers’ money, but constitute an abuse of public resources for selfish political gains,” he added.

Chow, who is also Tanjung MP, said elections are a constitutional and democratic right of the people and should not be viewed as an “inconvenience” that is best done and over with quickly.

He added that Pakatan states had every reason to hold back from joining the snap polls, which serve no benefit to the people except to return a corrupt and undemocratic party to federal power.