2 theSun | TUESDAY APRIL 28 2009

news without borders

by Maria J. Dass

EC bans ‘pondok panas’

newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PUTRAJAYA: The Election Com-
mission (EC) yesterday banned pon-
dok panas or voter reference stations
set up by political parties just outside
polling centres, and warned of severe
penalty for those who ignore election
regulations in the Penanti state by-
elections slated for May 31.
Its chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz
Mohd Yusof, said the winner of the
by-election can even lose his seat
or a campaign worker can lose his
voting rights for five years if found to
have violated the rules.
He said police are empowered
to arrest campaigners who do not
adhere to the law.
“We are giving ample campaign-
ing time from May 23 (nomination
date) to 30 but from midnight on the
day before polling, stop it!” he said.
In the past few by-elections,
campaign workers had continued to
campaign on polling day near vot-
ing centres, sometimes vociferously,
from the pondok panas.
Abdul Aziz said the control on
campaigning will allow the people
to vote in a calm and peaceful at-
mosphere and not worry about tense
situations.
He said election workers can still
speak to passengers being ferried in
their cars to polling centres.
“We cannot control this, as well
as messages being sent through SMS
and over the internet.”
He was speaking to reporters after
announcing the Penanti by-election
nomination and polling dates.
This will be the sixth by-elec-
tion to be held in just a little more
than a year after the March 2008
general election. The seat fell va-
cant following the resignation of its
assemblyman Mohammad Fairus
Khairuddin, who had also quit as
Penang deputy chief minister I, on
April 16.
He was last week cleared of
corruption allegations pertaining to
quarry operations in that state.
Abdul Aziz’s deputy Datuk Wan
Ahmad Wan Omar said: “If this law
is breached, the candidate is respon-
sible, and EC through the returning
officer can charge the candidate for
going against the law.
“This is serious because it can
nullify a victory for the candidate
involved, while a campaigners can
lose voting rights for five years.”
Abdul Aziz earlier admitted that
the commission had been lax in
enforcing this in the past though this
is a regulation in the Election Act.
He said the number of election
workers at voting centres is getting
bigger, perhaps to demonstrate the
strength of a party.
“And the behaviour of (these) peo-
ple … I don’t know how to describe it
... sometimes they are like possessed,
not conscious, in a trance.”
He said it is not necessary for
the pondok panas to be there as the
EC has ample avenues for voters
to check their details and polling
stations.
He said the electoral roll will be
Election workers will
no longer be allowed
to campaign from
‘pondok panas’.
out on May 8 and voters can check
their details on the EC website at
www.spr.gov.my or via SMS by
typing SPR<space>SEMAK<space>
MyKad number and send to 15888.
Alternatively, they can call the EC
office in Putrajaya at 03-88856500 or
in Penang at 04-2617692.
To a question, Abdul Aziz dis-
missed the insinuation that the delay
in announcing the by-election dates
was to accommodate the decision
and outcome of the Umno Supreme
Council meeting held on Friday.
“There was no postponement to
accommodate the outcome of this
Umno meeting. We just needed time
to make sure the arrangements with
the returning officer and his assist-
ants were settled and then we met
with the political parties and had to
work on securing the needed venues
and facilities,” he said.
He said the Election Act states that
a writ on the vacancy of a seat has
to be produced no earlier than four
days and no later than 10 days from
the official date of the vacancy, thus
the timing of the announcement fell
within the law.
Seberang Perai Tengah district of-
ficer Roslan Yahaya has been named
as the returning officer.
The Dewan Besar Institut Kema-
hiran Belia Negara in Bukit Mertajam
has been named as the nomination
and vote tallying centre.
The EC estimates that it will spend
RM500,000 on this by-election.

Umno to decide whether to contest Penanti Mansor likely to be PKR candidate

PUTRAJAYA: The Umno political
bureau will meet soon to decide
whether a party representative will
contest the Penanti state by-election
in Penang, party president Datuk Seri
Najib Abdul Razak said yesterday.
“Wait. We will meet soon,” said
Najib, who is also chairman of this
bureau.
Najib, who is also chairman of the
Barisan Nasional, had said earlier
that he would also discuss the matter
with BN component party leaders.
The prime minister had said that
the Barisan Nasional might consider
skipping the by-election because
“forced” by-elections would be a
waste of public funds and the coali-
tion did not want to play to the tune
of the Opposition. This stand was
supported by some component party
leaders.
The Election Commission an-
nounced yesterday that nomination
for the Penanti by-election would be
on May 23 and polling on May 31.
Najib spoke to reporters at the
news conference to announce further
liberalisation of the financial sector.
Asked about the EC’s decision
to disallow party kiosks close to
polling centres, Najib said it was a
good move as it would provide for
a peaceful atmosphere and prevent
scuffles.
“A large number of supporters
at these kiosks can lead to scuffles
which can prevent voters from going
to the polling centres,” he said.
In Johor Baru, Deputy Prime
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
said Najib would decide whether
the BN would contest or skip the by-
election after a meeting of the Umno
political bureau.
“We will take into account the
views of all quarters,” he said after
closing the Malaysia Unit Trust
Week 2009 at Plaza Angsana.
Muhyiddin was asked about
the views of certain people, includ-
ing former prime minister Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad, that the BN
should contest the by-election.
In the last general election, in
March last year, Mohammad Fairus
Khairuddin of PKR won the Penanti
seat with a majority of 2,219 votes
by beating Datuk Abdul Jalil Abdul
Majid of the BN. – Bernama
GEORGE TOWN: Speculation
has intensified that Penang PKR
veteran Dr Mansor Othman
will be nominated as the party’s
candidate in the Penanti state by-
election.
Mansor, a former PKR Penang
chief and a member of the party
since 1999, was missing when the
Penang state assembly announced
its two nominees as senators
yesterday.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng
had announced Mansor and DAP
vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz
Ibrahim as the state’s choice for
the vacant senators’ seats last
month.
Instead, the state assembly
meeting adjourned yesterday after
approving Abdul Aziz and Penang
PKR secretary Mustafa Kamal
Mohd Yusoff as the nominees for
the senators’ posts.
PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri
Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to
hold a press conference tomorrow
night at Yayasan Aman in Pen-
anti, and it is widely speculated
that Mansor will be revealed as
the party’s candidate for the by-
election.
Anwar earlier said if the PKR
candidate wins the Penanti seat,
he will be appointed Penang
deputy chief minister I.

“This is in line with the team spirit irrespective of their racial identity

briefs practised by the BN,” he said.

KPI proposed for Umno
information machinery
KUALA LUMPUR: New Umno informa-
tion chief Ahmad Maslan has proposed
that key performance indicators (KPI) be
used to evaluate the party’s information
machinery at all levels.
“I propose that information chiefs
have KPI in terms of the number of
information programmes done by Um-
no’s branches, divisions, states and the
centre,” he told reporters after his first
day in office at the party’s headquarters
at Menara Dato’ Onn here.
Ahmad, 43, who is also deputy
minister in the Prime Minister’s Depart-
ment, was appointed as information
chief by party president Datuk Seri
Najib Abdul Razak last Friday.
Musa to hear views on
partyless DCM
SANDAKAN: Sabah Chief Minister
Datuk Seri Musa Aman said yester-
day he would get the feedback of
the leaders of the component par-
ties in the state Barisan Nasional
first before making a decision on the
position of Deputy Chief Minister
Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah in the
state cabinet.
He said this in commenting on the
decision by the Liberal Democratic
Party’s Supreme Council on Sunday
which called for Tan to step down as
he is now partyless.
Tan was Sabah Progressive
Party deputy president but declared
himself a BN-friendly independent
assemblyman when SAPP pulled out
of the BN last September.
‘1Malaysia’ song to be
symbol of unity.
KUALA KLAWANG: The Information,
Communication and Culture Ministry
would launch a contest to identify the
best composer for the 1Malaysia song.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim,
said just like other patriotic songs that
inculcate patriotism in their composi-
tion, especially songs like Budi Bahasa
Budaya Kita and those to promote read-
ing, the ministry also wants the IMalaysia
song lyrics to have all the values that
can attract listeners.
Rais said the song composition would
have the representation of all races.
The song, to be in composed in
Bahasa Malaysia, would be widely aired
on all TV and radio stations.
‘Umno aid transcends
racial identity’
ALOR STAR: Kedah Umno will contin-
ue to extend aid to deserving people
by coordinating the activities with
other Barisan Nasional component
parties.
Its liaison committee deputy
chairman Datuk Ahmad Bashah Md
Hanipah said yesterday although
Umno had never discriminated
against any race, there was a need
for BN to coordinate the efforts to
ensure that no groups were left out.
“We need to extend the assist-
ance in a more systematic manner
to prevent overlapping of aid,” he
told reporters after presenting a
wheelchair and other assistance to
paralysed patient Chee Kok Siang.
Kok Siang, 30, became paralysed
after suffering from a high fever when
he was one-year-old. – Bernama
PKR expels 16 errant
members
KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR) has expelled 16 of its members
who had worked against the party dur-
ing the by-elections in Bukit Selambau
in Kedah and Batang Ai in Sarawak
recently, PKR deputy president Dr Syed
Husin Ali said yesterday.
He said the decision to expel them
was made at a meeting of the party lead-
ership on Sunday, Bernama reports.
Their offences included standing as
candidates or supporting opposition
candidates, criticising the party in the
media or declaring themselves as hav-
ing left the party, he said in a statement.