The Election Commission’s announcement on 26^th April that the public has up to 1^st May to check their names against the electoral roll and if need be, to then submit a relevant form to the state election director within 7 days should there be discrepancies, is highly disturbing.

According to the EC, this supplementary electoral roll for the fourth quarter of 2009 will be displayed at 998 places nationwide. Well and good that numerous places have been provided, but the EC has overlooked the fact that the period prescribed covers five working days.

How many are able to get away easily from their workplaces to fulfill their duty and role as citizens and voters? Surely, at the very least, one weekend should have been included.

Furthermore, in stating the need to fill up a form to rectify errors, the EC has failed to  specify what this form is and where it can be obtained, thus leaving voters in the dark.

As such, Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM) calls for the Election Commission to extend the 5-day period to at least 3 weeks and to provide more concrete information on what to do if registered voters’ names are absent from the roll.

SABM is aware that there are currently 4.39 million unregistered voters as of December 2009, as reported by the EC. Because SABM deems the Voter Registration drive and campaign as very crucial to upholding and strengthening democracy in our nation, it is presently actively engaged in registering new voters, and does this in collaboration with other Rakyat Initiatives,.

One of the various civic endeavors is the ‘Voice Your Choice’ campaign organised by EPIC (Extraordinary People Impacting Community).  This is a group of non-partisan young people and their aim is to register 2 million voters by year’s end.

Another is ‘Rock The Vote’ by SABM. This initiative aims to register youths through a series of rock concerts nationwide. The first leg of its concert is this Saturday, 1 May, at One Cafe - Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, KL

Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia

28 April 2010