Bersih gesa SPR jemput pemerhati antarabangsa pantau pilihanraya

Intan Abdullah Wed | Jan 09, 08 | 12:59:40 pm MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, 9 Jan (Hrkh) - Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih) menggesa Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya (SPR) dan kerajaan supaya menjemput pemerhati antarabangsa untuk memantau perjalanan pilihanraya umum yang akan datang.

Dalam satu kenyataan yang dibuat Bersih semalam, mereka berpandangan bahawa kehadiran pemerhati antarabangsa merupakan salah satu jalan terbaik untuk mengelak berlakunya penyelewengan dan memberi kredibiliti kepada legitimasi pilihanraya tersebut

Ia adalah ekoran laporan Bernama pada 4 Januari lalu yang memetik Timbalan Pengerusi SPR, Dato' Wan Ahmad Wan Omar memuji pilihanraya Presiden Uzbekistan pada 23 Disember 2007, yang menurut beliau dijalankan secara "demokratik, telus, aman dan adil" walaupun dikritik oleh pemimpin Barat.

Wan Ahmad bersama lima orang lagi menganggotai pasukan pemerhati dari Malaysia, merupakan sebahagian daripada 250 pemerhati antarabangsa dari 30 negara yang dijemput oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya Pusat Uzbekistan untuk memantau pilihanraya di negara itu.

"Daripada mencabar parti pembangkang memulaukan pilihanraya - yang melanggar Artikel 114 (2) Perlembagaan Persekutuan, yang menyatakan, SPR mesti 'mendapat keyakinan rakyat', suruhanjaya itu sepatutnya menjemput pemerhati antarabangsa untuk memantau keseluruhan proses pilihanraya, termasukan sebelum pilihanraya diadakan, dan bukannya terhad kepada hari pengundian sahaja," demikian petikan kenyataan tersebut.

Cabar pengerusi SPR

Tambahnya, ternyata SPR kini bangga dengan peranannya sebagai pemerhati pilihanraya di negara lain. Dalam ucapannya, Wan Ahmad dipetik sebagai berkata, "Pemilihan kita oleh Uzbekistan menunjukkan mereka mengiktiraf pengalaman kita dalam mengendalikan pilihanraya demokrasi...yang mana kita perlu rasa bangga mengenainya."

"Bukan sahaja Uzbekistan...negara-negara lain seperti Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Mali, Nepal, Bosnia, Indonesia juga membuat jemputan yang sama yang membolehkan SPR Malaysia meningkatkan lagi hubungan dengan negara-negara berkenaan," kata Wan Ahmad lagi.

Menurut Bersih lagi, jika SPR bangga dengan integriti dan kecekapannya, dan yakin pilihanraya di Malaysia 'bersih dan adil', maka gabungan itu mencabar Pengerusi SPR, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid membuat jemputan terbuka kepada semua pihak berkuasa dan pakar pilihanraya dari seluruh dunia untuk memantau pilihanraya umum yang akan datang.

"Jika tiada apa yang hendak dimalukan, pastinya kerajaan Malaysia yang begitu bangga dengan 50 tahun demokrasi di Malaysia akan menyokong dan mengalu-alukan kehadiran pemerhati antarabangsa sewaktu pilihanraya umum yang akan datang.

"Lagi pun, ketika Umno menghadapi cabaran yang paling serius pada 1990, bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad masih bersedia menjemput pemerhati dari Sekretariat Komanwel untuk memantau pilihanraya umum 1990," katanya. - mr

Opposition plans one-on-ones for Penang

Athi Veeranggan | Jan 9, 08 4:23pm

Opposition parties DAP and PKR today presented a united front in announcing their battle plan to wrest Penang from Barisan Nasional in the coming general election. The two parties have inked a deal to ensure that the opposition will face one-to-one contest with BN in the frontline state. Under the agreed arrangements, DAP - which for long have aspired to rule Penang - will contest seven out of 13 parliamentary seats and 19 out of 40 state seats in the next general election. PKR and the other opposition party PAS will be negotiating for the remaining seats. At a press conference held in Penang this morning, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said both his party and PKR reached the agreement not to contest for the same seats following their meeting on Monday. Lim said both political parties had agreed to cooperate closely whether at the national or state level to ensure victory for the opposition candidates in the general election this time around. "Both parties have reached a consensus. It's time to get down to serious work to ensure success for us in Penang in the coming poll," said Lim. When asked on the reason as to why DAP has reduced the number of state seats - in 2004 it contested in 20 state seats - Lim said that the party had “given in to politics of compromise and cooperation, rather than the `one-upmanship politics' which marred previous electoral ties between both parties". PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim also told the same press conference that his party will now have to finalise the allocation for the remaining seats with PAS, adding that an announcement on the matter will be made on a later date. "For the other seats involving PAS, a discussion will be held and a separate announcement will be made, and (we) hope the people will give their support to the DAP candidates so that they will win in the constituencies allocated to them," he said. Anwar said the joint decision reached was based on the agreement of party members at the grassroots level to put up an opposition front in the next general election. "We will make sure that it will straight face-off between us and BN in all seats, not only in Penang but throughout the country," he said. Dividing the battlefront The deal between the parties also allowed DAP to contest in the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat while PKR would contest in the Bukit Tambun state seat which falls under the Batu Kawan constituency. The Batu Kawan seat has long been a thorn between DAP and PKR. In 2004 both the parties vied for this seat, resulting in the opposition vote being split and the BN candidate benefiting from it. Another notable bargain in the allocation was the Pulau Tikus and Kebun Bunga seat exchange between DAP and PKR respectively. When asked by journalists on why Batu Kawan seat was given to the DAP even though it was resisted by PKR members, Anwar said his party members would understand that one tend to win some lose some in negotiation to reach consensus. In 2004, there were four three-cornered fights between DAP, PKR and BN, including the Batu Kawan seat. Other seats were all state seats - Bukit Tambun, Bagan Dalam and Sungai Pinang, all won by the BN. The latest agreement would also result in DAP contesting in north area of the island in predominantly Chinese-dominated seats while leaving PKR and PAS to concentrate on the Malay-majority seats in the south west of the island. The plan would also naturally mean that DAP would be going to battle against MCA and Gerakan while the PKR/PAS combination will take on Umno. The press conference this morning was also attended by DAP’s veteran leader Lim Kit Siang, PKR’s secretary general Khalid Ibrahim. The respective parties state leaders - DAP’s Chow Kon Yeow and PKR’s Zahrain Mohamed Hashim - were also present. The DAP seats Sungai Puyu assemblyperson and State DAP treasurer Phee Poon Boh said the compromise shall not be construed as a defeat to the DAP and victory to PKR. "It's a reflection of political reality today that to form the next Penang state government, all parties would need to compromise and work collectively to gain support of all voters irrespective of their race and religion to secure victory. "The DAP can no longer just depend on Chinese votes to win seats. It needs both Malay and Indian votes as well," he said. At the press conference, Chow and Zahrain signed an agreement on the finalised seat allocation, perhaps to ensure the parties abide by the contract. In a statement later Khalid said that the agreement between PKR and DAP can be pivotal in breaking the BN’s hegemony in the state. “PKR will cooperate with all parties who are committed in changing the political landscape in Malaysia through democratic means to ensure a clean and efficient administration,” he said. For the record, the parliamentary seats to be contested by DAP in Penang are Bagan, Bukit Mertajam, Batu Kawan, Bukit Bendera, Tanjong, Jelutong and Bukit Gelugor. The state seats given to DAP in Penang are Sungai Puyu, Bagan Jermal, Bagan Dalam, Berapit, Padang Lalang, Perai, Jawi, Tanjong Bunga, Air Putih, Pulau Tikus, Padang Kota, Pengkalan Kota, Komtar, Datok Keramat, Sungai Pinang, Batu Lanchang, Seri Delima, Air Itam and Paya Terubong. At present, DAP has four parliamentary seats - Bagan, Bukit Mertajam, Tanjong and Bukit Gelugor - and one state seat, Sungai Puyu in Penang. PKR has one parliamentary seat in Permatang Pauh. PAS meanwhile won the Permatang Pasir state seat.

GELOMBANG BERSIH MASIH HANGAT DI PERMATANG PAUH

OLEH: Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi

Permatang Pauh 9 Januari- Masjid Jamek Kubang Semang diserang dengan gelombang kuning yang masih hangat di Permatang Pauh. Gelombang kuning bermakna kebangkitan rakyat dalam memperjuangkan hak dalam menuntut pilihanraya yang adil dan bersih.

Kumpulan yang diketuai oleh Sdr Bokhari dan Sdr Rosli ini bergerak atas inisiatif sendiri, dan diatas kesedaran sendiri bergerak bagi mengumpul rakyat yang prihatin dan seberapa ramai yang mungkin untuk menyedarkan rakyat bahawa penipuan dalam pilihanraya yang di manipulasi oleh UMNO dan BN akan merosakkan keredibliti system pemerintahan negara, dan yang ruginya ialah rakyat. Menurut Sdr Shukri , yang bertindak sebagai setiausaha , mereka akan terus mengadakan perhimpunan dan perjumpaan minum pagi dan petang setiap minggu di merata kawasan di mPermatang Pauh.

Maklumat yang diterima menunjukkan betapa seramai 196 pengundi berbangsa India telah dikesan mendaftar sebagai pemilih di kawasan Permatang Pasir. Salah satu KADUN yang akan di tandingi oleh PAS. Kawasan KADUN ini telahh dua kali kekal untuk kerusi PAS dan djangkakan akan terus mengekalkan kemenangan sekiranya suasana, semangat,dan kerjasama yang ada di keka;lkan.