Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Friday, October 14, 1994:
All voters should verify the draft electoral roll as it will be used for the next general elections as elections this year now looks more and more unlikely
All voters should verify the draft electoral roll which the Election Commission has put up for public display until October 26, as it will be used for the next general elections as elections this year now looks more and more unlikely.
I had always maintained that if the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed wants to dissolve Parliament and hold general election this year, the coming Monday is the last date for the dissolution of Parliament.
This is because otherwise, the Dewan Rakyat will begin its 1995 budget meeting from October 17 to December 20. Although there is nothing in the Constitution or law to prevent Mahathir form dissolving Parliament mid-way during its budget meeting, Mahathir would go down in history as a very irresponsible Prime Minister if he resorts to such an action when there is no government or national crisis to justify it.
If Parliament is dissolved mid-way after two or three weeks’ meeting, it would be a complete waste of public funds as well as the time of MPs and Ministers for all the parliamentary business transacted before the dissolution would lapse and have no effect whatsoever – and have to repeated when a new parliament is elected.
If Parliament is not dissolved by Monday – and it dose not look likely – I would expect the Dewan Rakyat meeting from October 17 to December to run its full course, with the Deputy Prime Minister and finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim presenting his ‘election’ 1995 budget on Friday, October 28.
For this reason, the draft electoral roll which the Election Commission is putting up for public will be the electoral register which will be used in the general election next year.
All voters should therefore verify the draft new electoral register, incorporating new voters who registered in the July voters’ registration exercise.
Voters should check the following three things when they verify the draft new electoral roll:
Those who registered as new voters or applied for change of address in the July voters’ registration exercise should check whether their names had been entered on the electoral roll;
Ensure that no ‘phantom voters’ had been registered making use of their addresses, when they never knew of such ‘phantom voters’ who never lived or worked in that constituency; and
For voters who had previously registered, use the occasion to check whether their names are still on the electoral roll and had not been arbitrarily removed.
Voters are entitled to lodge objections with the Election Commission if anyone of the three above electoral abuses are uncovered, and those who have problems should approach the DAP.