EC’s duty to ensure convenient, safe election — Dr Yii
KUCHING: It is the Election Commission’s (EC) duty to make it as convenient and safe as possible for voters to cast their votes, said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
According to him, any inconveniences imposed on voters either directly or indirectly through unnecessary regulations or non-availability of facilities can be construed as a suppression of the fundamental rights of a voter.
“Such reforms are important not just for the pandemic, but also to encourage more voter participation especially for elections held in Sarawak and Sabah.
“If a Sarawakian, Sabahan or even a Kelantanese wants to vote at his hometown, it is the duty of the EC to come up with a way to vote safely in their place of choice,” he said in a press statement yesterday.
He also said the EC should look into the matter as very important in view of the upcoming Sarawak state election and a possible general election as early as next year.
This is in view that it is estimated that up to 20 per cent of eligible Sabahan and Sarawakian voters are living and working in Peninsular Malaysia, he added.
He said one of the reasons why many Malaysians, including Sabahans and Sarawakians, are compelled to find jobs far from their homes is unequal economic development among the states.
“That is why I call on the EC to not sleep on their laurels and expedite the process for postal voting or any other means to enable Malaysians who want to vote to do so safely and without much inconvenience,” he added.
During the seven months when the Emergency was declared in the country, Yii noted that the EC had failed to present any plans to allow safe voting in the Sarawak election or even a possible general election.
Since elections cannot be postponed indefinitely and neither can democracy be suspended due to any crisis that may arise, EC ought to explore ways to conduct elections safely, he added.
“In Parliament, I have submitted a question to the minister to answer if the EC has come up with pro-active reforms including absentee voting or extending postal voting to either vulnerable population or those working or studying outside the states, especially in Sarawak and Sabah,” he said.
He added that absentee or postal voting would make it easier for voters residing in other states to vote instead of them having to return home and causing a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, as what happened in Sabah.
However, based on the answer given to him, he said it seemed that the government did not intend to implement such reforms but instead recommended voters to change their voting address to the place they are staying in rather than finding ways for voters to vote safely in their respective states or even place of choice.