KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar Council's proposal to allow non-governmental organisations (NGO) to sit on the Election Commission (EC) has been shot down by several quarters.
They feel that the EC must be free from political influence as, in the present situation, it was difficult to gauge whether an NGO was neutral or had any agenda.
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) International and Political Studies lecturer Md Shukri Shuib said the system employed by the EC could be improved, but the presence of representatives with vested interests would only create chaos.
“Improvement does not mean adding on members to the EC, but improving the procedures or giving fresh ideas. “If the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) is chosen as a panel member, what about the rights of the other NGOs in Malaysia?” he said.
Md Shukri said the Bar Council itself needed to be improved so that it was more transparent and fair in its decisions on any matter.
“The Bar Council needs to rectify itself first as it is already eligible for registration as a political party. We see that it has strayed from its original objective of looking after the interests of its members,” he said.
Assistant Professor Dr Shamrahayu Abd Aziz of the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyah of Laws of the International Islamic University of Malaysia was of the opinion that although the matter might seem positive, it would be worrying if NGO representatives could not separate themselves from politics.
“The irony is that NGOs have political influence. We cannot avoid it because everyone has their own political agenda. These representatives have voting rights and cannot be fence-sitters,” she said.
Dr Shamrahayu also said that having NGOs on the EC might result in disagreements between the committee members and lead to disorder in the EC administrative system.
Selangor Youth Council deputy president Badrul Hisham Badrudin said he felt that the EC was experienced and continuously improving itself in the implementation of information technology systems and new voter registration.
“The commission needs to be free of political parties and NGOs as their presence can invite disputes and allegations by irresponsible quarters.
“NGO representatives need not be appointed to be part of the EC, but they should be given the chance to have discussions at forums or seminars,” he said. - Bernama
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