Offering cash incentives to youths to persuade them to vote is tantamount to bribery, says MCA.
MCA central committee member Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker (pic), who was referring to an online competition with cash incentives organised by PKR-linked NGO Invoke, said no party should resort to bribing eligible voters as this would only encourage more corrupt practices.
"As it is, there are already too many allegations of fraudulent practices and corruption amongst Malaysians.
"It will not be wise to increase the number of voters who are not interested or ignorant in politics by using monetary attractions to engage, attract and register them," he said in a statement Wednesday.
Those who want to enter the #UntungDaftar competition by Invoke, have to write a slogan to persuade youths to register to vote.
On Invoke's website, it said that RM1,000 will be given for best slogan, with two runner-up prizes of RM500 each and three third place prizes of RM200 each.
On Sunday, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli had tweeted about #UntungDaftar.
Ti said such monetary reward would also lead to the increase in the number of voters who are "politically ignorant" or "easily bribed".
"This will increase the tendency for politicians to resort to more bribes and corruption to win an election.
"As the competition becomes more intense and in the event that a victory depends on a small percentage of fence-sitters, the incentives will progress into bribes and the practice of corruption will prevail," he said.
He added that this was the reason why there was no automatic registration of voters.
"Malaysian democratic practices, justice and fair play are still lacking and wanting. We do not want a bigger pool of ignorant, lackadaisical or irresponsible voters to be increased and become the decisive votes.
"We cannot risk the ultimate outcome of an election to be dependent on a group of voters whose decision is not based on political correctness but based on political opportunism and driven by incentives or bribes," he added.
Bersih 2.0 had also slammed the NGO, describing the move as "pathetic".
"People need to recognise it is their right to vote and they should be taking the initiative to register," said Bersih 2.0 chief Maria Chin Abdullah.
Source -The Star Online-
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