While an on-going voter registration is being promoted by various parties before the end of March 2017, DAP Selangor urges the Election Commission (“EC”) to be equipped with facilities to handle the surge in registration of new voters. At our various voter registration programs with EC in Selangor, we have encountered a shortage of forms despite repeated reminders to the EC to prepare more forms.
According to our DAP Assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong in Kuala Kubu Bharu in her recent Facebook post dated 3 March 2017, the head of JKKK Kg Pasir Kerling, Yusoff Stak and the head of JKKK Ampang Pecah, En Rihajuddin bin Anwarkhan @ Tajol who are also Assistant Registrar officers have requested for 1000 forms each from EC, only to be turned away with 100 forms respectively. That is a mere 10% only of the requested number of forms.
Firstly, we are already denied of appointment of Assistant Registrars nominated by the DAP.
Secondly, the EC is unable to cope with our voter registration campaigns resulting in cancellation of many of our programs.
And now, the EC is further frustrating our efforts by limiting the number of forms being given out.
I have 2 questions for the Election Commission:-
(a) Is there a lack of budget for printing of registration forms or are the forms made of gold resulting in a lack of willingness to part with these forms? Some post offices are also turning away people citing this same excuse of not having any forms; OR
(b) Is this purely a case of discriminating against the DAP and our assemblymen from running voter registration campaigns in our constituencies?
We await the response from the EC on my 2 questions above. Facilitating registration of voters is one of the core duties of the EC and it is most shameful that the Election Commission in Selangor is so ill-equipped to execute it.