Nazri had even misled the House and the people when he said that there had been instances in previous general elections when voters could not vote because the new electoral roll being prepared by the Election Commission was not ready when Parliament was dissolved.
This is untrue. I have checked the four previous general elections held under the tenure of Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as Prime Minister, whether 1982, 1986, 1990 or 1995, and in everyone of these general elections, the electoral roll used was the latest one, and there was never an occasion when new voters could not exercise their constitutional right to vote because the new electoral roll was in the process of revision and was not yet ready.
Nazri also misled Parliament when he said that it was not unusual for the Election Commission to take eight months to prepare its electoral roll.
For the new electoral roll used for the 1995 general election, the Election Commission took six months and nine days to prepare. For the 1990 general election, it took four months to prepare the new electoral roll for the whole of Malaysia except for Sabah, which took another month. For the 1986 general election, the Election Commission took eight months and four days to prepare the new electoral roll for the whole of Malaysia except for Sabah. For the 1982 general election, the Election Commission took five months 19 days to prepare the new electoral roll.
Why then should the Election Commission, on the eve of the new millennium and in the age of Information Technology, take more than eight months to prepare the latest electoral roll, as the voters’ registration exercise ended in the first week of May. The Election Commission will be taking more than eight months to prepare the new electoral roll if the new electoral register cannot be ready by Hari Raya on 7th or 8th January 2000.
It is open secret that the Barisan Nasional is uneasy with the new electoral roll being prepared by the Election Commission, because it will have 650,000 new voters, mostly from the younger generation.
The Barisan Nasional has no confidence that it could get the support of the majority of the young generation of Malaysia, and this is why it is worried that it would not be able to preserve its two-thirds parliamentary majority in the next election.
There are people who had expected Parliament to be dissolved after the 25th anniversary Barisan Nasional bash last Sunday or after the 2000 Budget on Friday. I am now more inclined to the view that Parliament would not be dissolved next month because Mahathir needs more time to ensure that he could secure two-thirds parliamentary majority in the next election.
If Parliament is not dissolved next month, then the tenth general election cannot be held until after the Hari Raya on 7th or 8th January 2000. However, as the Barisan Nasional is loth to use the new electoral roll being prepared by the Election Commission because of its 650,000 new young voters, it is likely that the general election would be held around the third week of January. The question is whether the Election Commission would co-operate with the Barisan Nasional game-plan and ensure that the new electoral roll would not be in time for the next general election if it is held around the third week of January.
I do not wish to question or doubt the independence and integrity of the Election Commission as the DAP wants it to be to carry out its constitutional mandate and responsibility to conduct a free and fair general election. It is important, however, that the Election Commission should not conduct itself in a manner as to make people believe that it is involved in any campaign to make the next election the "dirtiest" in the nation’s history.
This is why the Election Commission should give satisfactory and acceptable explanation as to why it is going to take the longest time since Mahathir became Prime Minister to finalise the preparation of the new electoral roll and why it is impossible for the Election Commission to speed up the process to ensure that the new electoral roll would be completed latest by the end of this year.
(27/10/99)