Semenjak penamaan calon PRK kawasan ADUN Penanti pada hari Sabtu, 23hb May 2009 yang lalu, setiap malam 3-4 ceramah kempen pilihanraya diadakan. Tidak kurang daripada 20 ceramah telah diadakan setakat ini.

Menurut polis, 34 permit ceramah telah diluluskan dan setakat ini tidak ada permohonan permit ceramah yang ditolak.

Seratus peratus ceramah2 itu adalah anjuran PR.

Sangat berbeza dengan keadaan kempen PRK Permatang Pauh ketika Anwar Ibrahim (PR) bertanding melawan Arif Shah (UMNO) dulu.

Ketika itu banyak kerumitan, kerenah dan gangguan terhadap ceramah kempen PR. Permit ceramah tidak diluluskan, permit ceramah dilewat2kan kelulusannya – ada2 saja.

Ketika itu banyak sekatan jalanraya dibuat2 supaya perjalanan lalu-lintas jadi sesak dan lambat. Orang nak pergi ceramah tergendala. Orang awam yang menggunakan jalanraya menyumpah seranah.

Ketika itu, meski pun permit dilulus dan ceramah diadakan, berlaku pula gangguan helikopter beredar2 terbang di atas ruang angkasa tempat perhimpunan ceramah. Suara orang berceramah ditenggelamkan oleh bunyi bising helikopter.

Lampu spotlight dari helikopter itu pula disuluhkan kepada orang ramai yang berhimpun berceramah, sehingga menaikkan kemarahan – pastinya provokasi.

Tetapi kali ini, tanpa UMNO bertanding, keadaan terurus dengan aman dan damai. Polis pun nampaknya pada keseluruhannya tak ambil pot terhadap kempen2 dan ceramah PR.

Alangkah sejahteranya Malaysia jika semua PRK dan PRU apabila UMNO (dan juga BN) tak masuk campur dan tidak bertanding.

Lega beb!

Tak caya datanglah ke Penanti.

Yunus Ali,

Pengerusi NIEI

29 Mei 2009

Ikutilah pandangan daripada bekas Menteri Undang-undang yang kini merupakan Pengerusi kepada Yayasan My Future disini.

NIEI berada di Penanti untuk memantau perjalanan pilihanraya kecil (PRK) di DUN tersebut bermula 22 Mei 2009.

Kami telah mengeluarkan kenyataan mengenai Hari Penamaan calon disini.

Sehingga hari ini, kempen pilihanraya berjalan lancar. Poster calon-calon yang bertanding kelihatan di sepanjang kawasan Penanti dimana poster dan bendera dari calon Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) mendominasi sepanjang kawasan DUN Penanti berbanding dengan calon-calon bebas yang bertanding.

Anggota keselamatan yang ditempatkan di Penanti tidak begitu ramai berbanding dengan PRK yang kami pantau sebelum ini seperti Permatang Pauh, Kuala Terengganu dan Bukit Gantang.

Jelaslah tanpa kehadiran anggota keselamatan yang ramai sekalipun pilihanraya kecil masih boleh berjalan dengan aman dan tenteram.

Walaubagaimanapun, kehadiran polis trafik untuk membantu para pejalan kaki melintas jalan bagi menghadiri ceramah-ceramah kempen pilihanraya amat dialu-alukan.

Akan tetapi tidak perlulah anggota-anggota keselamatan mengadakan sekatan jalanraya berhampiran dengan tempat ceramah kerana ini akan menakutkan pengundi-pengundi untuk menghadiri ceramah sekaligus bertentangan dengan semangat demokrasi dan kebebasan untuk mendapatkan maklumat.

Contohnya seperti apa yang berlaku apabila ceramah diadakan di Pusat Khidmat Masyarakat ADUN Penanti di Kampung Semambu, Penanti pada 25 Mei 2009 dimana pihak polis telah mengadakan sekatan jalanraya berhampiran dengan tempat ceramah tersebut.

Kehadiran anggota polis yang begitu ramai pada PRK sebelum ini dengan alasan melindungi ketenteraman awam diragui asas tujuannya.

Apakah polis sebenarnya bertindak sebagai pelindung Barisan Nasional (BN) atau dengan tujuan menunjukkan kekuatan politik BN?

Di harapkan dalam PRK akan datang, tidak perlulah lagi kerajaan membazirkan wang untuk menempatkan anggota keselamatan yang ramai kerana ini hanyalah satu pembaziran tambahan lagi kadar jenayah dinegara ini semakin meningkat.

Oleh itu biarkanlah anggota keselamatan seperti Polis menjalankan tanggungjawab mereka untuk menjaga keselamatan rakyat dan bukannya dilibatkan dalam politik.

Amin Iskandar,

Pengarah Eksekutif NIEI

23^rd May 2009

Nomination Day for Penanti By Election

The nomination day of the candidates for Penanti by-election was held at Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara in Penanti.

It is estimated, around 1500 supporters from the Pakatan Rakyat was here to raise support for their candidates.

The atmosphere was calm and ‘quite’ in and out of the hall.

The situation were different from the previous by-election (Permatang Pauh, Kuala Terengganu, Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau) There has been no chanting or shouting nor cheerleaders and there was no ‘war’ of flags for the candidates during the nomination process.

Police presents was seen less this time too. Only a few traffic police personnel was deployed at some junction of the road to handle the traffic. Roadblocks was not set up by the police in Penanti or the wider area of Permatang Pauh.

Only two units of police truck with 12 officers armed with tear gas rifle was deployed outside of the nomination hall.

NIEI would like to welcome this new progress as the police power was seen less in this election. This new progress will absolutely obtain a peaceful situation for the people who are ready to vote for free and fair election.

NIEI hope that in the future the government will not deploy a big numbers of police personnel to conduct a by-election because Malaysia is not a “war zone” country.

Amin Iskandar,

Executive Director

23 Mei 2009

Hari Penamaan Calon, Pilihanraya Kecil Penanti

Hari penamaan calon untuk pilihanraya kecil (PRK) kawasan DUN Penanti, Pulau Pinang telah diadakan di Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara, Penanti.

Dianggarkan lebih kurang 1,500 orang penyokong, yang pada keseluruhannya penyokong Pakatan Rakyat, datang untuk mengiringi calon.

Keadaan di luar dewan penamaan calon kelihatan aman, tenteram dan ’sunyi’.

Jauh berbeza dari piliharaya-pilihanraya kecil yang lalu (seperti di Permatang Pauh, Kuala Terengganu, Bukit Gantang dan Bukit Selambau), kali ini tidak ada sorak-sorai, tidak ada gendang dipalu dan tidak ada juga ‘perang’ kibaran bendera parti atau calon yang bertanding ketika proses penamaan calon berlangsung.

Kehadiran polis di jalanan pun tidak ramai. Ada cukup polis trafik mengawal lalu-lintas, tetapi setakat ini tidak ada sekatan jalanraya yang ditemui di Penanti ataupun di Permatang Pauh.

Cuma kelihatan dua jip ‘Pasukan Tindakan Ringan’ polis, berjumlah 12 orang anggota lengkap dengan senapang pelepas gas pemedih mata yang berada di luar kawasan penamaan calon.

NIEI mengalukan-ngalukan perkembangan baru ini, yakni pengurangan kehadiran dan gangguan polis dalam proses PRK kali ini.

Ia menenangkan keadaan dan membantu ke arah suasana yang sejahtera untuk orang ramai bagi mengundi secara bebas dan tenteram.

NIEI berharap pada masa akan datang, kerajaan tidak perlu menempatkan lagi anggota polis yang terlalu ramai dalam PRK oleh kerana Malaysia bukanlah negara yang sedang dalam peperangan.

Amin Iskandar,

Pengarah Eksekutif

]]> http://niei.wordpress.com/2009/05/23/kenyataan-media/feed/ 0 aminiskandar @ Black http://niei.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/by-elections-a-necessary-evil-say-polls-watch-groups/ http://niei.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/by-elections-a-necessary-evil-say-polls-watch-groups/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:20:04 +0000 aminiskandar http://niei.wordpress.com/?p=54 ]]>

PETALING JAYA: While it may seem to be a waste of public funds, by-elections are a necessary evil, said election watch groups.

Malaysian For Free and Fair Elections chairman Syed Ibrahim Syed Noor said by-elections are part of the democratic structure.

“I think it is costly but I guess that is the cost of democracy and it is the people’s right to vote. If someone died, we can’t just replace him with the next person,” he said, citing Bukit Gantang and Batang Ai by-elections as examples.

On the case of the Bukit Selambau and Penanti assemblymen who resigned from their positions, he said it was probably the “gentlemanly” way.

“It is part of the responsibility of the assemblyman. They didn’t brush aside the accusations but let the people decide.”

Syed Ibrahim, however, added that a by-election should not be used to assess the influence of a political party.

National Institute for Electoral Integrity executive director Amin Iskandar likened a by-election to an economic stimulus package for the local population as it brought more money for the people.

“A by-election helps Malaysians to be democratically more matured. Look at Sri Lanka, they have local elections every year,” he said.

Nevertheless, Amin believed that political parties should screen their candidates before fielding them in elections.

“Most Opposition parties didn’t expect to win and so picked a not so serious candidate,” he said, adding that costs for by-elections could be scaled down.

He said the Federal Government did not have to deploy so many policemen during the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

“I think it is unnecessary to have a policeman at every traffic light. We are not at war like Afghanistan,” he said.

Associated Press 2009-04-18 12:55 PM

Malaysia’s prime minister slammed the opposition Saturday after one of its lawmakers resigned, triggering another by-election that Najib Razak said was costly as the country grapples with the global economic slump.An opposition lawmaker in the northern resort state of Penang quit following unsubstantiated allegations of corruption. A date for the ballot to fill the seat will be decided soon.

It will be the sixth by-election since March 2008 national polls. Najib’s National Front coalition is expected to come under pressure after the opposition won four of the previous five by-elections.

Najib was quoted as saying in Saturday’s The Star daily that by-elections should only be held after an elected representative died, not resigned. He said such polls were draining resources that should have been used to strengthen the economy.

Two of the five previous polls were called to fill vacancies caused by resignations of opposition lawmakers, while the rest were due to death of the incumbents.

The newspaper said the five by-elections have cost taxpayers 33.4 million ringgit ($9.3 million), the bulk of which was spent on deploying thousands of police to the areas to ensure security.

“Resignations are political decisions which can also be regarded as a political ploy,” Najib said in the report.

“By resigning, an elected representative has reneged on his commitment to serve. By right, the focus should be on strengthening the country’s economy and protecting the people’s interest. We must be moving forward for the nation’s future.”

An aide to Najib confirmed his comments but did not give details.

The National Front governs with less than a two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time in 40 years.

In the last by-elections, the opposition won two of three polls held simultaneously on April 7, dealing a blow to Najib shortly after he took power with pledges to carry out wide-ranging government and social reforms.

The results did not change the balance of power at the federal or state level but served as a referendum on Najib’s popularity. The National Front downplayed the loss, saying Najib has yet to make his mark.

Election watch groups said by-elections were part of a democratic structure but urged the government to scale down the cost.

National Institute for Electoral Integrity executive director Amin Iskandar said there was no need to deploy so many police during by-elections.

“I think it is unnecessary to have a policeman at every traffic light. We are not at war like Afghanistan,” he added.

NIEI sent 12 activists to monitor the By-Election in Permatang Pauh. Those are some pictures taken by our monitor’s from 15th to 27th August 2008.

On 15th August 2008, NIEI monitoring team arrived in Permatang Pauh. On the way to Penang, we stuck a few times because of trafic jam, raining and accident.

After six hours, we arrived the land of “battle royale”.

Yesterday, we went to see the nomination day at the nomination center. We estimated around 20,000 to 50,000 people attended the historic day.

We will upload the photo’s later.

Today we will set-up our office.

Now. the monitoring begins…..