Winning Election with the ‘Right’ People!

December 2, 2011

As a Sabahan, nothing distressed me more than the fact that sometime in late 1990s, a whole lot of foreigners were given Sabah citizenship with the intention of changing the electoral map of the state.

The Wild, Wild East

I first heard about this rumor from my father during the 1999 state election. I didn’t quite believe it because such an exercise would be too cumbersome, involving too many people to be carried out undetected. Before this, we, Sabahans have seen a few serious political transgressions, ranging from the 1986 riot after Parti Berjaya was booted out to the mass defections of elected representatives from Parti Bersatu Sabah to BN after the 1994 election. The most humiliating incident involved Pairin Kitingan’s waiting outside the Palace to be swore in as Chief Minister (with portable toilet in toll). To rig an election by giving out citizenship is just too serious an offense to be contemplated but I could be wrong.

Indonesians Can Vote

On the eve of the 1999 state election, my cousin told my father that he shouldn’t bother to vote because her husband’s estate workers- mostly from Indonesia- were being ferried by buses to polling centers. The husband told my cousin that someone would give ICs to these Indonesian workers and then they would walk into the polling center to vote.

Unusual Population Jump

I began to suspect that there may be some truth to this rumor after I read that the population in Sabah had increased substantially more than Sarawak & Peninsular Malaysia over the past 20-30 years. One report (here) published by a political party in Sabah, SAPP states that the discrepancies in the population increase from 1970 to 2000 between Sabah, Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole as follows:

· Malaysia (10,439,430 to 22,202,614 or up by 113 percent)

· Sarawak (976,269 to 2,012,616 or up by 106 percent)

· Sabah (636,431 to 2,449,389 or up by 285 percent)

This is also collaborated by another article published by DAP which states that the population in Sabah had increased from 929,299 people in 1980 to 2,468,246 in year 2000- a staggering increase of up to 1.5 million or 166% in 20 years (here).

RCI to Investigate

Today, we read in the newspaper that the Parliamentary Select Committee for Electoral Reform has recommended the setting of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (‘RCI’) to investigate claims that foreigners have been registered as voters, especially in Sabah. As a Sabahan, I salute the committee members who voted in favor of this resolution.

Select Your Voters

In politics, we may have our differences but we must work through our differences. Once every four or five years, we approach the people with our respective plan or manifesto to seek the mandate to govern the country. That’s how a democracy works because the power to rule rests with the people. The people in turn bestow that power to the winner of a free & fair election.

It is the depth of cynicism that our democracy may turn into a two-way process: Not only can the people choose the Government; the Government can also choose the people. It is more than a cynical act. It is an extremely wrongful & illegal act that may endanger the security of our country. And, that’s why the perpetrators will fight to stop the setting up of a RCI to investigate this matter. For the sake of a stronger Malaysia, we must pursue this investigation- not just to ascertain the truth behind this story or to punish the wrongdoers (who we can forgive but not forget), but to send a clear message that we are a nation of rules & laws. And, that our democracy- despite all its flaws & shortcomings- is worth defending because it is the best form of government there is. And, that no individual or group- no matter how powerful or exalted- can hold himself or themselves above the people or the law.

(This is my latest article in Merdeka Review. For the Chinese version, go here)