Proxy Voting? Why not implement automatic voter registration?

Election Commission recently announced that they are considering the implementation of proxy voting here in Malaysia.

Now as much as I've always been skeptical about the EC, this is actually a pretty good idea mooted by them.

What is a proxy vote actually? Proxy voting means that in the event one person cannot cast their ballot on the Election Day, that person may apply to appoint another person to cast his ballot for him.

the benefits? it simply provides alternative to voters to cast their votes. in fact it is pretty noble of the EC to put the interest of the voters first.

however, before we take an extra step to help the current voters to better cast their votes, why not help the non-registered voters first? before we reinforce the current values of having a better voting process, why dont we fight and lobby for the right to be a voter without being registered?

In Switzerland citizens who attained the age of 18, is automatically registered as a voter. This is good, as firstly, it throws away the hassle of getting yourself registered and secondly, it saves administrative costs and time in processing the registration.

Here in Malaysia, it is not easy to register as a voter. To do so you will need to either go to any Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) state offices (only 1 office in every state), or look for a post office, or ultimately look for a Assistant Registrar who is appointed by the SPR (on the recommendations of every political parties and a number of NGOs)

From my experiences, most people will avoid Post offices. Simply because its too time consuming to get a number and wait for your turn to get yourself registered. Half of them wont even consider SPR offices as its simply too inconvenient. and so many are dependable on Assistant Registrars who normally open registration booths in shopping malls, pasar malam or any other crowded public places.

and even if you do get yourself registered, you will need to wait for at least 5-6 months before you're registered into the system. and there are no other ways to check the status of the registration other than waiting impatiently for 6 months. and after 6 months, these voters have to re-register themselves if they cant find their names here.

Hence, the current options provided to voters are simply too insufficient. and implementing automatic voters registration will eradicate these problems. so before the EC suggests any new ideas to expand the current system, i think its better for them to consider improving it first.

xxxxx

on another note, Khairy is a bankrupt politician for trying to steal the limelight when Anwar challenged PM Najib for a debate. Khairy claimed that Anwar is not at Najibs "level", and that it will be good enough for Anwar to debate him instead.





pic taken from MsianInsider


Just to clarify certain things, it is Khairy himself who is not at Anwar's level. By convention, the opposite of the Prime Minister will be the Opposition leader in Parliament. Hence it is justified for Anwar to issue the challenge to Najib, instead of issuing to other people such as the UMNO Youth Chief. and why would Anwar want to debate with an outgoing Member of Parliament anyway?

funniest thing is, after PKR Youth agreed to send Rafizi Ramli to debate with Khairy instead, Khairy kept a complete silence on this issue.

so who's the coward?

How to scare away investors – the Perkasa Way

I like this article.

"Finally, it is the height of political stupidity to call for a Chinese Perkasa to meet the irrational and racist challenge of the Malay Perkasa. Whoever made that demand or issued a statement to that effect clearly needs to go back to study Political Ethics 101 which is that you do not fight darkness with equal darkness but with light and reason."

Top notch answer from Americk Sidhu

read the reply here

"Let me tell you what an honourable man would have done. An honourable man would have vacated his seat and requested the electorate in his constituency to decide whether they would still support him even though he had betrayed them.

This you did not do, so in my book you are a dishonourable man. You are now a Member of Parliament under false pretences. You shouldn’t really be there because a Member of Parliament should be someone with integrity and honour, besides being legitimately elected by a majority of voters in that constituency.

As a dishonourable member of Parliament under false pretences who has betrayed the electorate he represents, I do not feel you are in a position moral or otherwise, to sanctimoniously criticize the actions of your past fellow ‘brothers-in-arms’ at the same time hiding behind the unholy alliance you have created for yourself with, what most right thinking members of Malaysian society consider to be, the devil incarnate."

Bulls-eye, and he hit it with such fluency with his words

MACC a tied cow

Megat Najmuddin recently made a statement stating that the MACC was right not to go London.

and the reason?

"It is ridiculous to go over there. The process will involve a lot of cost and a waste of taxpayers' money"

Such ridiculous statement.

I would daresay that if there is any allegation at all by anyone on the Prime Minister (or any close associates to him), Malaysians would gladly support the use of public funds to investigate this matter.

In fact as an "independant" statutory body which was modeled after top corruption agencies such as the ICAC, and well scrutinized by 5 other independent bodies for the benefit of the public (namely the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board, the Special Committee on Corruption, the Complaints Committee, the Operations Review Panel, and the Corruption Consultation and Prevention Panel), shouldn't MACC kick its gear immediately and investigate a huge allegation that links our beloved Prime Minister and the First Lady to an extremely dramatic conspiracy?

YAB Datuk Seri Najib is the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and if there is an allegation against him which smears his name, the public would demand that his name be cleared first and that this case be placed as a top priority of the MACC.

Politicians, especially those who hold public office should be clean from top to bottom. It is the role of an anti corruption agency to not hold back in carrying out its duties. Simply falling back on lame excuses such as these will only (again) confirm the public's opinion that MACC simply only serve the interest of one master.

I wrote a letter to Mr Uthayakumar last year, which was published in Malaysia-Today. so for archive sake here it is ;)

______________________________________________________________________

Mr Uthayakumar,

This is with regard to your possible plan of forming a new political party.

Dear Sir,

Personally, I do not think that it's so simple, forming a political party and fighting for a just cause just like that. It would be more realistic to do what is most practical first to achieve that goal.

If Sir thinks that by forming a new party (which will take at least 10 years to make a strong positive impact, just like PKR) will solve the Indian issues, then Sir you are surely mistaken. To solve the Indian's problems, you need to be in power first. And to be in power, you will have to fight for a cause which favours the political landscape right now in order to convince the voters to vote you in. And currently, fighting for equality and freedom of expression is a much more popular cause.

Plus, PR's chances of taking over as Federal government is slim at the moment, or at least until the next GE; so if DAP, PKR and PAS combined altogether now are still struggling, what chances do Hindraf or your new political party alone possibly have?

I do understand your frustration on the PR government for not doing enough at the moment, but would forming a new political party help them as well? I don't think so, certainly not until that new political party has a substantial number of MPs in the Parliament, which will take loads of time and effort.

Additionally, would the Electoral commission even allow you to register a new political party? Taking into account of the thorn you are to the current regime and the influences you have on Malaysians, they surely would not. Even if they do, it would probably be 10 years later after a series of court cases between you and them!

So with all due respect sir Mr Uthayakumar, it is really unrealistic to think that you can help the Indian community by forming a political party. No disrespect sir, but the most you could do right now (if you really do not want to join PR) is to form a pressure group and keep pressuring PR and BN to focus on helping the Indians. And that is all.

My advice Sir, and I'm sure so do the rest of the Malaysians who sincerely care for the Indians as well, is to join forces with PR and aim to take over the federal government by next GE. Only after taking over as Federal Government may you negotiate your deal with the new Federal Government and realistically fulfill your lifetime wishes of helping the Indians.

And i think PR will definitely be able to topple the current regime and take over by next GE, judging by the current sentiments of the public and the mistakes that BN made. Only by joining PR and fighting together, will it give you the best shot to help the Indians. And it is not really a long time more, just less than 4 years away.

Your struggle against a tough regime is certainly truly inspiring. But it would certainly not be wise if you were to fight alone with your supporters. Join PR, if not individually then as a party collectively with your supporters as the 4th alliance. Only then will you be stronger and achieve your goal faster. As John Dickinson famously sang, united we stand, devided we fall. And fellow Malaysians certainly do not hope that you will fall or fail in your just cause (although I do hope that a brave politician like you will fight for all races instead).

With warm regards, all the way from Reading, UK.

xxx
Low Teck Kuan, David