The Election Commission (EC) chairman's regret over the failure of indelible ink used in Election 2013 shows they are guilty of wrongdoing and should resign, Bersih co-chair Datuk A. Samad Said said today.
He said the admission by Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusuf confirmed the May 5 general election did not proceed in a clean and fair way.
“Respectfully, once he knew that there was a mistake, it was only appropriate that he resign,” Samad told The Malaysian Insider today.
“That’s why he should do it. To me, his admission is an acceptance that what happened was his fault,” said the national laureate popularly known as Pak Samad.
Opposition parties and civil society groups have asked Abdul Aziz to step down after the fiasco over the ink, which many voters managed to wash off despite claims it would remain for at least five days.
The EC chairman expressed his disappointment that it failed to work in an interview with a Malay daily.
“If people were to ask me now, what’s the saddest thing in my life, I’d answer ‘indelible ink’,” he responded in the paper, Sinar Harian.
Pak Samad questioned why the EC didn’t first test the effectiveness of the indelible ink before allowing it to be used during the recent elections. “Didn’t the EC first test it out? He (Abdul Aziz) just went on to believe in the ink’s usability. An election is to elect a governing party and give them power.
“I hope he’s honest, because this is his admission that the election wasn’t done fairly,” Said said.
The co-chair for Bersih 2.0 also urged the coalition’s supporters that they should attend en masse the Black505 rally that’s organised by Pakatan Rakyat at Padang Merbok this Saturday.
“We urged, or plead that our members come together to join this rally.
“Ambiga herself has called for us to participate in the rally, so let’s do so,” said Said in reference to another co-chair for Bersih 2.0, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.
However, Abdul Aziz said yesterday that the failure of the indelible ink to function effectively cannot be used as an excuse to accuse the EC for allowing voters to cast more than one ballot or to commit electoral fraud during the elections.
Abdul Aziz mentioned that the indelible ink, a recommended tool by the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform, was tested several times before it was implemented on May 5.
“However on that day, the power of Allah is greater when the ink disappeared after several washes, so where was the mistake?
“It’s unfortunate but we didn’t sit still. We established a special committee that is chaired by Datuk Christopher Wan Soo Kee, assisted by two other panelists - Datuk Md Yusop Mansor and Abdul Aziz Khalidin,” he added.
Pakatan Rakyat has held massive Black505 rallies nationwide since the May 8 to protest the alleged electoral fraud during the 2013 General Election that saw the Barisan Nasional maintain its power despite losing the popular vote. – June 18, 2013.
Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ecs-admission-proof-of-wrongdoing-aziz-should-quit-says-bersih-chief/
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