Statement 
by Dr Tan Seng Giaw, DAP National Vice-Chairman and MP for Kepong 
on 4.9.2002 
in Kuala Lumpur

We call on the Government to investigate the allegation by the former Chief Admiral that anti-government groups approached generals to topple the government in 1999. Has he infringed Penal Code 121D?


On 2 September, 2002, the Defence Minister Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak said he was aware that anti-government elements had approached ranking military officers for help to topple the government although he had yet to receive a formal report on the matter.

How long would it take to compete the formal report? Can Dato' Seri Najib explain why he only comments on the matter after the statement by Tan Sri Abu Bakar?

Karpal Singh believes that it is an offence for Tan Sri Abu Bakar not to report the matter to the police. If proven guilty, an offender may be jailed seven years or fined or both. He also urges the Inspector General of Police to report Tan Sri Abu Bakar and Dato' Sri Najib to the police for not reporting the case.

DAP insists on constitutional struggle. It is against violence including calling on the armed forces to overthrow the government. Therefore, it maintains that the Government must investigate the matter fully.

The Government should also look into whether Tan Sri Abu Bakar and Dato' Seri Najib have gone against the Penal Code. Do Malaysian laws allow for anybody to keep mum on such a plot? 

VOTER'S REGISTRATION

We call on all Malaysians who have reached the age of 21 to register as voters at the post offices that have registration counters.

DAP is launching a voter registration campaign to encourage all eligible voters to register with the post offices. We hope that the campaign will make eligible voters aware that registering as voters is a duty of a citizen.

On 10 August, 2002, the Secretary of the Election Commission Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said that only about 10,000 out of 2.1 million eligible citizens had registered as voters. 

According to Datuk Wan Ahmad, there are registration counters in 639 post offices in the country. We hope that these counters provide efficient service for prospective voters so that more will come forward.

Meanwhile, we wish that the Election Commission review its methods of publicizing the year-round registration. Just forming a mobile unit is not enough.