EC appoints 17 NGOs as observers

EC appoints 17 NGOs as observers

 

KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — The Election Commission (EC) has appointed 17 non-governmental organisations as observers in the 13th general election, said EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar. 

He said all the NGOs have appointed their volunteers, numbering about 1,000 people, who will be on duty at polling centres. 

“They comprise people from various backgrounds. They will be given special passes with specific numbers as their identity,” he said in the “Hello Malaysia” programme over Bernama TV yesterday. 

He said only volunteers from NGOs recognised by EC could access polling centres that have been identified but they have to adhere to regulations. 

Other NGOs however could only observe from outside the polling stations, he said. 

He hopes they would abide by the law and not create problems at polling centres. — Bernama

 http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/malaysia/article/ec-appoints-17-ngos-as-observers/

GE13 Voting Procedure 2012

PLEASE bring along your own pencil ERASER. It is VITAL that we get this information across to as many people as possible. The Voter Agent Training recently conducted at the PJ Civic Centre brought to the fore some very critical issues which every Voter ought to know. These are : 1. As soon as you enter the polling station, you will be ushered to Kerani 1, who will check your personal identity against your NRIC. He/she will then read out your name, NRIC number and the Siri/Bilangan number in accordance to the List provided by the Election Commission (SPR). 2. Once all that is verified, Kerani 1 will pass your NRIC to the next officer, Kerani 2. 3. Here, Kerani 2 will hand you a ‘Kertas Undi,’ which is identified by its Serial Number. As a Voter, please know your rights. You have the constitutional right under our Election Laws to NOT accept the ‘Kertas Undi’ that the officer assigns to you. You CAN and should ask for a different ‘Kertas Undi’ from a different book. To do that, just say to the officer, “Encik (or Cik), saya minta Kertas Undi dari buku lain atau dari bawah.” Translated, that is, “Sir (or Madam), I like to request a different ballot paper from a different book or from below.” This must be done so that the Voter CANNOT be identified via the SPR’s Master List. It will take just ONE voter to upset the whole sequence, which will eventually affect the SPR’s Master List for that voting centre. The aim of doing this is to SAFEGUARD every Voter’s identity. No one has the right to know how you want to vote. 4. Once your ‘Kertas Undi’ is issued to you, just stand there and do NOT leave immediately.Instead please CHECK BOTH SIDES of the ballot paper in order to ensure that there are NO pencil markings or Any other form of suspicious markings on it. If there are, REJECT the ballot paper issued to you and instead request for these markings to be either erased to your satisfaction or for you to be issued with a new ‘Kertas Undi.’ Also do NOT accept any loose-lying ‘Kertas Undi,’ which may have been strewn about because it was rejected by someone else earlier. ALWAYS ask for a fresh ballot paper from the book. An alternative, as suggested by certain other people via email, is to Bring along your own eraser so that when you see any pencil marks, you can rub them off completely yourself. 5. Kerani 2 will then hand the ‘Kertas Undi’ to the next officer, Kerani 3. Kerani 3 carries a seal, which will be used to stamp your ‘Kertas Undi.’ PLEASE watch carefully that the officer stamps your ballot paper FULLY and CLEARLY. After that, see that it is folded into two before the ballot paper is handed over to you. Incomplete stamp mark can and will render your ballot paper as spoiled vote. 6. You can now proceed to the voting booth. 7. At the booth, please ensure that the ballot paper has only your ONE marking of a single X. If for whatever reason, suspicious or otherwise, you overlooked some pencil marks of numbers or markings on the front or back of the ballot paper (ie other than your own mark), please ERASE those markings completely. REMEMBER, these markings can and will render your ballot spoiled – so be Extra Cautious. The most careful approach is to check your ‘Kertas Undi’ thoroughly before you accept it from the officer. REMEMBER to check it in front of the relevant officer so that if you have to reject it, he is right in front of you. 8. Do not be afraid or cower in fear when you have to express your objections because there are representatives from the various participating political parties who will be there to observe the whole voting process and they are there to assist you as and when you need. As mentioned earlier, It is this kind of information that GUILTY PARTY does not want others to know. They thrive on public ignorance so that they can do whatever they feel like brazenly. One way to stop them is to send this information to as many of your friends as possible so that everyone, on voting day, knows exactly what to do, knows his/her constitutional voting rights and is aware of Print this out and keep it safely. When Voting Day finally arrives, it will be handy for you to access and read again.

Awakened by an arrogant and biased Election Commission

April 28, 2012

FMT LETTER: Steven Choong, via e-mail

As I write this I’m aware that tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands are journeying into KL to make the great event in the Malaysian history, the Bersih 3 Sit-and-Protes against an unclean election process,  a success today.

My heart is with all of my fellow citizens who will be at Dataran Merdeka. I wish I could be there too but I’m staying back because I have to give my moral support to the Bersih 3 JB Steering Committee in Johor Bahru.

The Steering Committee consists of people who have no prior experience of organising a rally. Yet they set out with an ambition to see a 10,000 crowd because they long to see changes in Johor.

Johoreans missed the thrill of 308 and they would not want the thrill to escape again in the coming 13th GE. However, they know they may miss it yet again unless they do something. They know enough now that the electoral roll is not clean and the election process is open for manipulation via the postal voting processes as well as a biased Election Commission.

The exposure that the EC chairman, Abdul Aziz and his deputy, Wan Ahmad, are both Umno members are just something too much to swallow.

These two persons do not even know that they are holding a position that demands the highest level of integrity and independence as the future of the country is entirely vested in their hands to ensure that the government is what the Rakyat has chosen.

They should have immediately tendered their resignation upon the exposure by PKR. But to the dismay of everyone they just casually brushed off the matter as something insignificance. What has this country becomes under BN? We have people who walk in the corridors of power and yet do not seem to know what is ethical or unethical.

It is clear the BN government is rotten to the core and all other supposed commissions are too being manned by people who are closely affiliated to Umno.  Hence, these are the main reasons that gave the Steering Committee the courage to push to the limits that they know.

The Steering Committee and many volunteers had been working very hard over the last two weeks to ensure a big turn-out today in JB. They dare to dream dreams and I’m deeply touched and appreciative of all they have done.

I hope it will be a success and the police and the MBJB will co-operate. But then come what may, this is our land and future.  If we do not engage now to demand for a fair and clean election, our dreams will remain dreams and the future will be bleak for all except those who walk the corridors of power.

I hope too, it will be a great success in KL and all other cities as we really need to take back the right to determine the future of this country together.

The writer is national deputy sec-gen of PKR

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/04/28/awakened-by-an-arrogant-and-biased-election-commission/