EC Not Doing Job, Bersih Wants Its Chairman Out

The election watchdog alleges the Election Commission has failed in conducting a "clean and fair" election in Sarawak.

EC Chairman Hashim Abdullah

Electoral Watchdog Bersih 2.0 has called on Election Commission (EC) Chairman Hashim Abdullah to resign on the eve of the Sarawak election.

In a statement today, the Bersih 2.0 Steering Committee and the Sarawak Pemantau Committee say there was a blatant disregard of election laws, and alarming signs of a broken democratic system in the current state election.

“The check and balance mechanism supposedly represented by the EC, meant to prevent such practices is non-existent. The commission has failed to ensure that the Sarawak state election is conducted in a clean, free and fair way.

“The only way to counter election fraud that will happen tomorrow is by voting in big masses. We also urge the EC chairman to resign immediately for failing his duty to ensure that elections are conducted in a clean and fair way,” the statement read.

Both the committees had claimed they had discovered numerous instances of “election offences” in the Tasik Biru constituency, citing “vote buying”, “threats and intimidation” and the use of federal resources for state election campaigns.

“There are multiple reports by local residents of being given RM20 – RM50 to attend events and vote for Barisan National candidates. This has been verified through interviews with some voters. However, they are reluctant to reveal their names for security reasons.

“Other ministerial departments, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry and also the Ministry of Tourism, have organised events in rural villages that led to multiple promises being made and the distribution of goods such as ovens, sewing machines, rice bags, harvesting tools and water tanks to selected villagers.

“Such events always finish with the call to vote for the Barisan Nasional candidate or such assistance will no longer be available to them,” the statement continued.

Prior to this, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang alleged that voters in Sarawak were being given bribes of up to RM2,000 per person.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri refuted this and said the DAP supremo’s allegation was nothing more than a political gimmick to soil the credibility of BN candidates in the state election.

“If this allegation is true, we ask him to prove it and report the matter to the Election Commission and police.

“We cannot accuse someone without evidence. There is also the possibility of some quarters there doing it and blaming others for it,” she told Umno Online.

-FMT-