ROSS Stephenson, 24, was keen to exercise his democratic rights and in August 2016, registered as a new voter. But he was stunned when he received a notice in February from the Election Commission (EC), informing him of his status as a “dubious voter”.

Stephenson was later directed to appear at a public inquiry at the EC branch in Shah Alam.

The first-timer would have been eligible to vote in the Petaling Jaya Selatan constituency in the 14th general election (GE14), which must be held by August 24, 2018.

“I’ve been checking my status regularly online and was shocked to find that someone had objected to my application. The reason was ‘pemilih diragui’ (dubious voter),” Stephenson said.

If a new voter fails to show up at the public inquiry on the specified date and time, then his or her application will be struck out. 

At the Umno general assembly in December 2016, Barisan Nasional chairman and Prime Minister Najib Razak had hinted that GE14 would be held “soon”. (New voters who registered by March 31 are eligible to vote in September.)

Easy to object

“I went to the EC office to check and find out how the objector obtained my details,” Stephenson said.

An EC officer told him anyone could check on a new voter’s status in the office as all details, such as name, address and identity card number, were printed in the electoral rolls.

“The officer said the information is publicly available… the objector just has to pay RM10 for each objection form,” he said.

When Stephenson (pic) turned up at the EC office in Shah Alam on March 6, there were more than 40 new voters waiting to hear their case. There were also 10 objectors at the office.

“I then went before a judge and showed my evidence, such as utility bills and birth certificate. After the judge reviewed the evidence, he ruled that my registration was valid.

“The judge then awarded RM100 as compensation and said the objector would have to pay the fine.

“If I hadn’t shown up for the hearing, my name would have been removed and I’d have to register again.”

The objector has yet to pay the RM100 fine.

Stephenson said there were legitimate reasons to object, such as to weed out phantom voters, those who have died or migrated overseas.

“The objection system is there as a form of transparency and accountability, but my concern is that it is being abused by certain parties.”

Facing a similar predicament was IT consultant Chim Chee How, 25, a would-be voter in the Petaling Jaya Selatan constituency.

He was surprised to receive a letter from the EC last month, stating that he was a dubious voter.

“What really ticks me off is the fact that I had to cancel my meetings on the specified date and rush to the EC branch to attend the public hearing.

“At the inquiry, I found out that my neighbour was the one who had objected to my registration. When I asked her about the objection, she said someone told her to put in the objection.

“I feel that there is something suspicious going on,” he said.   

Monash University student Ho Wing Tjun, 23, who was also marked as a dubious voter and had to attend the public inquiry on March 6, said the incident has made him even more determined to get his name on the electoral roll.  

Ho, who would be voting in the same constituency as Stephenson and Chim, said he won the case and was informed that his name would be on the roll within three months.

“I will continue to check on the status of my registration until my name appears on the roll. Nothing, is going to stop me from voting in the general election.”

Deterring new voters

National Oversight and Whistle-blowers Centre (NOW) director Akmal Nasir said the objection process was one of the easiest ways for some parties to suppress voters’ rights. 

“Before this, we had the issue of not enough forms or few EC counters to deter new voters from applying.

“But with this new technique, it’s easier for them (certain parties) to stop people from becoming voters.”

Akmal said it was a desperate attempt by groups to spoil the registration process by abusing the system.

“The EC has to scrutinise the application process, as it is open to abuse and some are doing it for their personal interest. The EC must improve the objection process.” 

Akmal, who is also the chief resource officer of the PKR-run Invoke, said the non-governmental organisation was trying to reach out to two million out of the four million unregistered voters.

“We have a call centre that is trying to reach out to unregistered voters and we expect to reach about 5% to 10% hit rate. If there’s any complaint or they’re facing issues, we will assist them to register.

“We will also bring the ARO (assistant registrar officers) to their house and register them.”

Electoral Watchdog Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said the EC should implement automatic voting registration, which enables a link between the EC and the National Registration Department.

“The system will have the complete details of the name, age and addressees of the voters. It will also have a database of those who has died or migrated. This system will save taxpayers’ funds,” she said.

Maria said the EC should implement the system unless it had a hidden agenda.

“Are they aiming to disenfranchise targeted voters, such as those in Selangor? We have also recently received complaints of new voters who are having their registration challenged in Kedah.”   

Maria advised new and existing voters to keep checking their status and urged them to complain if their names were missing from the electoral roll. – April 3, 2017.