EC rebuts appointments claim
Naming process ongoing since November, says chairman
PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) has refuted suggestions that appointments of its commissioners were to pre-empt a court case against it.
EC chairman Azhar Harun said that the process to appoint the commissioners had been ongoing since November.
“As an ex-legal practitioner, I will not pre-empt legal action with these sort of moves. There has been an injunction filed. I don’t want to be accused of contempt of court,” he said during a press conference to welcome its latest additions.
Former Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Ramlan Ibrahim, former Labour department director-general Datuk Chin Phaik Yoong and former Bersih 2.0 activist Zoe Randhawa reported for duty yesterday at the commission’s headquarters here.
To a question, Azhar defended the appointment of Zoe, who has been accused of being a Pakatan Harapan supporter because of her work in Bersih 2.0.
Azhar said this was a wrong perception, because as activists they fought for something that was right according to the tenets of the law.
“If we think it’s right, we fought for it ... There were some things that we fought for were agreed to by the then opposition. Not that we agreed with them, they agreed with us,” he said adding that there were similar allegations made against him.
Azhar said some of the things they had fought for had also been agreed to by the previous government.
“We do what we believe to be right. We don’t look at which party. Never,” said Azhar adding that he had in the past argued Election Petitions in court for both Barisan Nasional and the then opposition.
Zoe, 30, said that democracy and upholding the trust of the people would always come first.
“I think it’s important to listen to all sides in the process of reform,” said Zoe, who is the youngest ever commissioner appointed to the EC.
“It is surreal,” she said when asked about this distinction.
Universiti Malaya Law lecturer Assoc Prof Dr Azmi Sharom who will take up the position of EC deputy chairman and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Associate Prof Dr Faisal S. Hazis who was appointed as commissioner still has duties to attend to.
Azhar also said he was confident that one more commissioner would be appointed soon.
In a statement on Thursday, Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Bakar said their appointments will come into effect from the day they report as a Commission member until they reach the age of 66, in accordance with Article 114 (3) of the Federal Constitution.
On Feb 8, a registered voter filed for an injunction to halt the Semenyih by-election, challenging the validity of the EC as it was run by only the chairman.
Aside from the chairman, the remaining six posts in the Commission were still vacant, rendering the EC non-existent in accordance with the Federal Constitution, the voter’s lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz said.
Six EC members resigned effective Jan 1and the posts had remained vacant until Thursday’s appointments.