Withdrawal of use of Indelible Ink

With the decision of the Elections Commission (EC) to cancel the use of indelible ink, there is no need for further proof that the EC is colluding with Barisan Nasional (BN) to allow cheating in the coming General Elections.

Despite all assurances and false gestures, it is now clear the Tan Sri Rashid is content to conduct the 12th General Elections in an atmosphere completely bereft of integrity. Citing 'public order' and 'security' is also nonsensical reasoning that is perfectly consistent with the language of forces around the world who seek to supress democratic freedoms.

BERSIH, which represents not just political parties but a wide swathe of civil society, has campaigned tirelessly for indelible ink to be used to battle the scourge of phantom voters.

Candidates have observed irregularities in postal voting, and revealed hundreds and thousands of false addresses, dead individuals and voters over 100 years old in the electoral roll. The EC has ignored BERSIH's demands to address these problems and now the third of BERSIH's core demands has gone unfulfilled.

At a moment where the eyes of the entire world are upon us, the EC has now conclusively and irrevocably shown that any overtures towards reform that it had made previously were in bad faith, and that in decisive moments, the EC will yield to every demand of its political masters.

KeADILan notes one positive outcome of this development however. BN intelligence must clearly be showing a swing towards the Opposition, thus forcing them to resort once again to phantom voters and other forms of cheating to minimize the electoral losses they must clearly be anticipating. BN is clearly taking no chances.

We are encouraged by this trend and call upon all Opposition sympathisers to strenghten their resolve and their efforts as we enter the final stretch of our campaign for a better Malaysia.

Dr. Syed Husin Ali
KeADILan Deputy President