by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Monday, 17th April 1990:
DAP to send a delegation to meet Election Commission on the unclean 1989 Electoral Roll and the validity of the voters’ registration exercise last month
DAP takes a very serious view of the news report quoting the principal assistance secretary 1 (operations) of the Election Commission, Mohamad Nor, that the 1989 Electoral Roll is unclean.
Encik Yusuf said there are 209,108 cases of different names with the same identity card numbers in the 1989 electoral roll, while there are about 100,000 cases of same names with the same or altered identity card numbers.
With such extensive irregularities and errors, there is very grave doubt whether the 1989 electoral roll is acceptable or even legal at all.
Encik Yusof said that the Elections Commission has set up a task force to look into the various problems relating to the 1989 electoral roll, and that the task force was liaising with the National Registration Department to identify the problems.
In view of the extensive nature of the irregularities and errors in the 1989 Electoral Roll, the various political parties must be consulted before it is accepted as valid and proper electoral roll.
However, in view of the snap voters’ registration exercise which was held by the Election Commission last month on the directive of UMNO Baru Supreme Council, a new problem has arisen.
Election Commission should consider declaring the 27-day voters’ registration exercise in March null and void
With the 27-day voters’ registration campaign which was held from March 1 to 27, the Election Commission is now in the process of preparing the 1990 Electoral Roll.
But how could the Election Commission prepare the 1990 Electoral Roll, when the validity and legitimacy of the 1989 Electoral Roll is unresolved?
If the Election Commission Task Force finds confirmation there was widespread hanky-panky in the extensive irregularities and errors of the 1989 Electoral Roll, then the 1989 Electoral Roll must be redone and “cleaned up”. If this is the case, then the 1990 Electoral Roll also becomes unacceptable, as it is based on an improper unclean and therefore illegitimate 1989 Electoral Roll.
Under these circumstances, the Election Commission should seriously consider declaring that the 27-day voters’ registration exercise was improper and invalid, and organize a new voters’ registration exercise for the purpose of preparing the 1990 Electoral Roll after the 1989 Electoral Roll has been cleaned up.
The DAP is sending a delegation of its leaders to meet the Election Commission about the problem connected with the 1989 Electoral Roll, as well as the validity of the 27-day voters; registration exercise held in March, and whether it should be declared null and void.