Cash cannot be king in polls
As India carries out the world’s biggest election, many who carry more than rm3,000 are seeing their cash seized in a bid for clean polls. there are lessons to be learnt for Malaysia.
THERE I was, trapped in a car with half a dozen policemen – and a policewoman – some of them armed. They were menacing and they wanted my money, all of it!
Okay, that may sound a bit melodramatic, but it is true.
Just about a month ago, I was on vacation in India, in Tamil Nadu to be accurate. I was on my way to Rameshwaram to see the Ram Sethu, what Westerners call Adam’s Bridge, when our car was stopped.
The cops did not ask for licences or ID, they just wanted to know how much money we had. The driver said he had about 1,000 rupees (RM60) and quickly added that I had about 5,000 rupees.
But I did not want to lie. When the cop asked me how much I had, I told him I had about 50,000 rupees, or RM3,000. That rattled him and suddenly the whole squad had surrounded us.
They wanted me to surrender the money – I think I actually had about 70,000 rupees – and I could only have it back in two weeks if everything was legit. I started panicking.
It was all the money I had and I had not wanted to leave it at the hotel for fear that it may be stolen. And my flight home to Malaysia was in three days.
Thank God I had my passport and flight tickets with me. After much to-ing, fro-ing and pleading, the man in charge said I could go. But he had a word of advice: “Pass half the money to the driver, so you will each be carrying 25,000 rupees.”
You see, it is against the law to carry 50,000 rupees or more in India, at least until the end of May. That’s when the world’s largest elections come to an end.
I learnt later that I was not alone. Many other tourists had also gone through the same experience, with some actually being forced to surrender their cash.
India’s Election Commission is really coming down hard on corruption, or vote buying. Any movement of high-value cash, valuables or even things like alcohol are heavily regulated.
It also has a code of conduct with many familiar rules. Government officials cannot use their positions for campaigning. No policy, project or scheme can be announced that can influence voting behaviour.
Ministers must not combine official visits with election work or use official machinery for such purposes. The ruling party cannot use government transport or machinery for campaigning.
Political parties or candidates can be criticised based only on their work record and no caste and communal sentiments can be used to lure voters.
Mosques, churches, temples or any other places of worship should not be used for election campaigns. Bribing, intimidating or impersonation of voters is also barred.
India also has a 48-hour “election silence” before voting booths open.
Most of these rules also apply in Malaysia, but there are differences. Campaigning here, for instance, ends at midnight before voting day.
But there is one major similarity. People keep breaking these rules, simply because there is little enforcement.
In many places in India, bribery of voters still goes on. There is a video going round of voters getting a live chicken and a bottle of alcohol, presumably to vote the “right way”.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of stirring religious tensions in a speech he made, and complaints were also made against key opposition candidate Rahul Gandhi. Both have been issued notices and have to answer to the EC.
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How about Malaysia? Well, we have a by-election going on in Kuala Kubu Baru and as far as reports go, not all is hunky-dory, either.
The racial attacks are there for all to see, with some questioning candidates’ qualifications and even the schools they attended – obviously a race-baiting tactic.
It could backfire, as there are five Chinese schools and two Tamil schools in the constituency and the parents of the schoolkids are not likely to react too kindly to such attacks.
There have been campaigns in churches, and temples and mosques are being used too. Candidates openly visit these houses of worship to woo voters.
Even strident Islamist party leaders are being seen in Hindu temples while projects have also been announced.
Election watchdog Bersih has a whole litany of complaints, including a Hari Raya feast for voters where many even got “duit raya” packets, allegedly complete with photographs of a minister.
I have my doubts on this one, as no minister would be stupid enough to put his face to money given as enticement for votes.
The state government has also given RM5,000 to Tamil schools for infrastructure, but I would not call that graft either. RM5,000 per school for infrastructure is pittance.
Who would want to vote one way or the other for a RM5,000 allocation? Some schools elsewhere are getting millions.
So far, though, both sides in the election have been relatively clean, unlike in past elections when there were blatant handouts.
Remember the video of people swearing that they would vote for a certain party, and being rewarded with cash? Or when Santa Claus came to town in Penang with free nasi kandar and beer in many outlets?
The Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission is not taking any chances, though. It has its own operations rooms in the constituency to ensure that there is no hanky-panky.
Perhaps the MACC officials should also be making some rounds and nab anyone who is seen carrying too much cash or goodies around town, just like in India.
As for me, despite the rather scary experience, I was really impressed with what India’s EC is doing.
It was a one-off experience and, as my colleague Senthilnathan and I left the town of Karaikudi for the one-and-half-hour drive to the Tiruchirappalli airport, we still had more than 50,000 rupees, but there were no more roadblocks.
We flew home with the money and are looking forward to making another trip. After all, we have all that money to spend and no plans to have them changed back to the ringgit.
Meanwhile, I hope the people vote wisely, both in India and in Kuala Kubu Baru. And that cash will not be king.