No mystery for commission

ONE question mark in Malaysian politics that many people often speculate about is the date on which the Prime Minister will seek the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s consent to dissolve Parliament so a general election can be held.

For the Election Commission (EC), the body charged with running elections in the country, the date of the Dewan Rakyat’s dissolution is actually no mystery at all.

“We are normally informed much earlier that on such-and-such date, the PM will go to the Istana (palace) to seek an audience with the King and that the dissolution of Parliament will occur on that day,” says EC’s former chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman.

“About two months before an election, I am called in to see the PM who will ask me whether we are ready for elections or not, and that is the first big hint that elections are coming,” says Rashid.

He says EC chairmen have been asked the same question, each time election loomed, during the tenure of three Prime Ministers – Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Hussein Onn.

He does not know whether current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak follows the practice but there is no legal provision requiring the commission to be told in advance or consulted on either the dissolution or timing of elections.

To ready itself better, the EC will look for tell-tale signs of a “snap election” – which Rashid defines as polls held well before the five-year term limit and because the government has no choice.

An example of a snap poll is one called after a major crisis breaks out in the ruling party, requiring the Government to seek an early mandate from voters.

“In a situation where the Government calls for elections and it happens in a very ‘peaceful’ environment, we will not consider it a snap election even if it is called early,” said Rashid.

That there has never been a need for a snap poll is something which Malaysians should be proud of.

“This is because we have been a peaceful and progressive country where change has been evolutionary.”

Hard at work: Abdul Rashid (fourth from right) checking out preparations at a polling stream during one of the many elections he has overseen.