An election watchdog has called for a permanent date to be fixed to determine when the general election as well as other state elections will be held.

"We shouldn't let the 'dreamer' to call for the election," Malaysians for Free and Fair Election (Mafrel) chief Abd Malek Hussin told a two-hour press conference held in Kuala Lumpur today.

"This practice has to be stopped. All this ilham atau mimpi (inspiration or dream) business shouldn't be a factor of consideration (for an election date)," he stressed.

General election is held every five years in Malaysia but the prime minister, who advises the king on when the Parliament should be dissolved, holds the discretion as to when to call for an election.

This usually resulted in the premier saying he hasn't found the 'inspiration' yet to call for an election whenever he is asked about the election dates over the years.

Critics argue that the discretion to call for an election at any time he wishes allowed the premier to have a political advantage favourable to the ruling party.

Early preparation

Elaborating on the need to have a fixed date, Malek urged Malaysia to follow the international norm by stipulating the election date in the constitution such as in Bangladesh or the presidential, Senate and House of Representatives elections in the United States.

He argued that having a fixed date will ensure a level playing field for all political parties contesting in the polls.

It will also allow election watchdogs like Mafrel to be better prepared in monitoring the election.

Mafrel is expected to dispatch about 5,000 volunteers to observe of the conduct of the next general election - which Malek predicted will be held sometime in November next year.

The watchdog, which was formed in 2003, had monitored the last national poll in 2004 as well as the by-election in Pengkalan Pasir, Kelantan last year and the Sarawak state election in May.

Earlier, Malek unveiled an election observation report on the Sarawak state election.

In the 123-page report, it found election irregularities and offences had " seriously marred " the state election although it was conducted generally smooth and procedurally correct.

Based on a 45-day election observation which cover post-election period, Mafrel said there was no report of ballot discarding, ballot stuffing or vote miscounting recorded.

However, it noted that "the wrongs clearly outweigh the rights" in the state election where the frauds were supported with verified and documented evidences.

Among this were voter registry discrepancies, abuse of public resources, biased media coverage, voter impersonation, missing names of voters and questionable postal ballots.

Widespread corrupt practices

Malek said the malpractice of vote-buying was widespread in Sarawak, especially in the long houses area where their leaders were allegedly turned into conduits to pay the bribery.

"The amount of bribery ranged between RM20 to RM100 but there was a case where (the voter) was paid RM5," he claimed, adding that millions could have been spent for vote-buying.

Also present at today's press conference were Mafrel deputy chief Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh and treasurer Hasnah Hashim.

He alleged several voters who lodged police reports over the practice of vote-buying were harassed and one of them even received a death threat.

He also pointed out the case where the Malaysian Dayak Congress was denied official registration by the Registrar of Society prior to the election as a human rights violation.

The Mafrel chief expressed his disappointment that the election irregularities recorded in the Sarawak state election has reflected no positive changes made since the 2004 general election.

In view of that, Mafrel has called for an overhaul on the conduct the election in 30-point recommendations . The recommendation was a result of consultation with various groups.

Malek also revealed that the recommendations have been put forward to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and the Election Commission, as well as all relevant quarters.

BN returned to power during the May 20 Sarawak state election but the opposition made a notable breakthrough and a swing of votes in Chinese-majority seats to the opposition.