I refer to your report Nine petitions struck out, PAS keeps Kelantan which confirms your earlier report that PAS and Umno have reached a deal to maintain their status quo in Kelantan and Terengganu respectively.

I, and the Malaysian Voters Union (Malvu) which I represent, condemn the agreement between Umno and PAS to cover up the truth of election irregularities from the public in relation to the election petitions filed by both parties.

Malvu also regrets the mainstream media's complicity in keeping under wraps this dishonourable agreement which is a clear attempt to maintain power for each of the parties concerned - PAS in Kelantan and BN in the rest of Malaysia.

Some would described this 'gentleman's agreement' as 'illegal' as an election petition cannot be withdrawn under an influence of incentives or an 'under-the-counter' deal.

But now no one can deny the agreement's existence as legal representatives from both sides agreed too readily to the objections raised by the other side apparently to facilitate the petitions to be struck out. The play-acting is all too clear for all to see.

What is at stake here are the Malaysian voters' rights to see to it that the 2004 general election (GE2004) was conducted freely and fairly and that any irregularities can be pursued as rigorously as possible through legal channels.

From this perspective, any backdoor deal between the parties to cover up election irregularities should be condemned. Now, party interests from across the political divide have converged to cheat voters across the spectrum.

The likelihood of this occurrence is behind the formation of Malvu - we believe that there are voters' interests which need to be defended against the vested interests of political parties.

Malvu had monitored the GE2004 and found massive irregularities. In the interests of transparency and fairness to the public, these irregularities should be pursued by subjecting them to rigorous a cross-examination in the courts.

An undercutting of this legal avenue suggests that public interests have been sub-planted by party interests. And that is unacceptable because political parties gain power through election by voters, not through 'under-the-counter' deals which apportion power among various interested parties.

Without these election petitions being pursued, the public is deprived of answers to the following questions:

  • the independence of the Election Commission and the conduct of the GE2004

  • the reported incidences of large-scale vote-buying prior to the election

  • the abnormally high voter turnout in several constituencies especially in the east-coast states

  • the existence of 'phantom' voters and improperly listed voters, both of which have affected credibility of the gazetted electoral rolls

  • the reported cases of voters who couldn't vote as they had been moved to other voting districts, some quite far away, without their knowledge

  • the secrecy of the vote

The chance to find out answers to these serious problems is lost when election petitions are allowed to be struck out in big numbers.

There are many more electoral issues which can be given a rigorous once-over if election petitions are pursued with normal rigor.

But now the opportunities are lost just because Umno and PAS have decided to put their own party interests above the interests of the public.

Voters should be informed of this dishonourable agreement and consider what action they can take in relation to the parties involved.