Be in Parliament, not in jail

Elections are an important and fundamental process of the democratic system, so candidates should be familiar with the relevant laws before starting their GE14 campaign.

THE 14th General Election has been set on May 9, and as many have said before, “now the circus has started”.

Obviously, elections are not circuses but an important and fundamental process of the democratic system.

Hence, the candidates vying for parliamentary and state seats and their supporters should refrain from turning the elections into a circus.

Ultimately, within all the “fun” and excitement of the election period, the candidates should always remember one thing: they are potential “Yang Berhormats” who may become lawmakers in Parliament or the State Assembly.

Hence, the law itself will be watching them very closely on how they and their supporters conduct themselves during the entire period. Parliament may be suspended but the law is very much alive.

I would expect the police, the special branch, the officers of the MACC and SPR to be in full swing to ensure that no laws are broken by the candidates and their supporters. This happens every time but many do not know it.

Therefore, I would advise the candidates to either read up on the election laws or get lawyers who are experts in the field for advice. Prevention is better than a breach of the law.

Section 3(1), Part II, of the Election Offences Act 1954, for instance, sets out 15 electoral offences which can be committed by any person ranging from preventing someone from voting to tampering with ballot papers.

Hence the “bangla trick” of GE13 should not be repeated as an unauthorised person that prevents another from voting can be arrested and charged.

Section 4 of the Act provides for possible offences that may be committed by the election officers itself. This is to ensure that the elections are free, fair and conducted in accordance with the law.

Candidates should try very hard from falling in love with their rhetoric and their voice in trying to stir up the emotions of the audience to get their support.

Their voice and their rhetoric may land them in jail rather than in Parliament if their speeches have a tendency to promote feelings of ill-will or hostility “between persons of the same race or different races or of the same class or different classes of the population of Malaysia” (Section 4A of the Act).

In other words, racist and divisive religious speeches intended to draw support is illegal.

It is interesting to note that the maximum prison sentence for this offence is equal to a parliamentary term!

We often hear of vote buying and the phrase that “politics is dirty”. People do not want leaders who get elected by corrupt practices or pure “money politics”.

It is also dangerous for the country when votes are bought, especially with the use of funds provided by businesses, legitimate or “underground”.

This is because if the candidate wins, the funder will come back to ask for favours to be returned.

To curb corrupt practices during election, Part III of the Act provides for various offences such as personation, treating, undue influence and outright bribery.

The Act seems to cover various types of bribery and undue influence.

The act of bribery does not have to be committed by the candidate himself but it could be done by his agents or someone connected to him in some way.

The candidates must remember that the enforcement agencies have become quite sophisticated in detection after many years of experience and with the current level of technology available.

The amount of election spending, how it is spent and its proper accounting are also potential offences under the Election Offences Act.

Section 19 of the Act clearly stipulates that spending in excess of the maximum allowed in the Act is illegal.

Not only that but certain expenditures and certain employment in relation to election are also considered to be illegal practices.

It is worth the while of any can- didate to be familiar with the relevant provisions of the Act, as non-compliance with any of the provisions of the Act may land the candidate in jail instead of Parliament.

Furthermore, if such non-compliance with any of the written law relating to the conduct of election can be shown to have affected or can be reasonably supposed to have affected the result of the election, the candidate’s election can be declared as void and the next person with the highest vote to be declared the winner by the High Court.

In other words, every election of a candidate can be challenged by his contender in the High Court if there are legal grounds to do so.

I like to wish all the candidates the best of luck and may you try to win the support of the people by focusing on issues that really matter to the people.

Please try to leave out sensation, name calling, fake news and have some respect for the general mentality of the people.

All the people want are leaders who can serve them reasonably well so that they can peacefully try to achieve their little dreams and hopes.

All the people want are leaders who can serve them reasonably well so that they can peacefully try to achieve their little dreams and hopes.