PRESS STATEMENT (10 May 2012)
The National Institute of Electoral Integrity (NIEI) welcomes the government’s decision to withdraw the controversial 2012 Election Offences Amendment Bill.
NIEI take note that the Bill have drawn criticism on the hasty tabling of the Bill in Dewan Rakyat as well as weak provisions due to lack of consultation and further study.
NIEI hereby state that the 2012 Bill was indeed drawn up short of critical inputs and best practices in terms of Election Offences and its procedures due to the hasty decision hence raising a bigger concern on the progress and implementation of the Recommendations made by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform (PSCER).
NIEI is of the position that the post PSCER implementation is indeed unclear as there lacks a proper monitoring and oversight mechanism. The lack of clear process, timeline and specific recommendation could undermine the electoral reform process should this lack of post PSC process remain unaddressed.
NIEI hereby call on the Prime Minister to make the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform to act as a taskforce and monitoring agencies on the prescribed reforms and proper monitoring on the process of implementation on the PSCER recommendation with clear and specific timeline. We also seek for relevant NGOs to be made Consultative partners to the Select Committee to view and implement the reforms according to the principle of free and fair election.
NIEI is also of the position following the Electoral cycle approach as we prescribe that reform is a continuous process and the government and agencies involved must look into examples of best practices and reform procedures and other critical areas regularly. This position is vital in terms of prescribing working mechanism and procedures based in a transparent and objective manner.
The Select Committee is an important feature in terms of the growing public interest and concern over electoral reforms in Malaysia that requires a special body to be the guide and oversight over the reform process that requires greater inclusive and transparent mechanism.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ELECTORAL INTEGRITY (NIEI)