KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Election Commission in Malaysia needs more power to prevent one-sided campaign coverage in local media or the entire electoral system will become a "laughingstock," the commission's chairman said.
Top election official Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahim's comments Friday appeared to lend rare support to opposition complaints of pro-government bias in the press.
"If you want free and fair elections ... you must be able to have that power to level that playground," Abdul Rahim, head of the Election Commission, said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the March 8 general elections.
"Without that power, then the whole system becomes a laughingstock," he said. The commission must be able "to control the media when they take sides."
It is rare for any official connected with the electoral process to speak so candidly about media bias. The comments are even more surprising coming from Abdul Rashid, who has been criticized by opposition parties for refusing to acknowledge that voting irregularities occur in the country.
"In an election you have to produce what is called an informed choice. That's the principle. People must know who is contesting so publicity must be given to all, not just one section. And there are media bodies that take only one side," he said.
The mainstream media in Malaysia are either government-owned or controlled by the parties in the ruling coalition. They also need annually to renew government licenses to operate. This has ensured that virtually every newspaper and television station broadcasts flattering reports of the government. The opposition rarely gets a good mention in the papers.
The Election Commission is supposed to be an independent body, whose members are appointed by the constitutional monarch. But it is largely seen as a pro-government panel that has done little to promote electoral fairness.
Abdul Rashid indicated his hands are tied, saying the commission is in charge only of the electoral rolls and the polling process and has no power to control other irregularities, including vote-buying.
The laws need to be changed to give the commission more muscle, he said.
"Our (electoral) laws have been there for 50 years. After 50 years, I feel there must be some kind of review," he said. "There must be a law ... put in place where the EC is seen to be in full control."
Despite his frank comments that will likely be welcomed by the opposition, Abdul Rashid insisted the electoral process itself is free, fair and transparent.
He dismissed allegations that electoral rolls, which are vetted by the Election Commission, are filled with names of dead people and people living in other constituencies. These names are used by bogus voters deployed by the ruling party, critics say.
"That never happens here. It cannot happen because the process _ the polling, the counting and so on _ is so transparent," he said.
"Cheating has never been proven anywhere in this country," he said, adding the few incidents of fraud that may have taken place have been so minor that they didn't affect election results.
Opposition groups reiterated demands for electoral reforms at a rally late Friday in northeastern Terengganu state, where the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party's president, Abdul Hadi Awang, told a crowd of several thousand people there were "clear signs of cheating."
By JULIA ZAPPEI
Associated Press Writer AP
PEOPLE'S POWER
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