11th General Elections Malaysia Results – At a glance
October 29, 2007
Malaysians Say The Darndest Things! has moved to http://www.darnmalaysia.com (d-a-r-n, not d-a-m-n)
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My girlfriend asked me, what’s the point of the upcoming rally on 10th November 2007?
I told her about the hanky panky going on in my constituency, Ipoh Timur. I told her and explained about how a sudden influx of 8000 voters seems fishy and is worth a bit of investigation.
I told her that this march will be about people demanding a more transparent process of elections, that elections be free-er and fairer. To demand for our voices to be heard.
I also showed her a summary of the results for the last general elections in Malaysia for the Dewan Rakyat. Some people say numbers speak louder than words, so to those people who believe that to be true, please click to view the table in Wikipedia.Did you see anything odd or wrong with the results? Did you see what I saw?Did you see that only with 64% of the total votes in Malaysia, the current government has secured 91% of seats?
And they call this a landslide victory, when 36% of the voters did not vote for them? 36% is a small number, peanuts, you say? How bout if your company docks your salary by 36% then? 36% of voters in Malaysia are only represented by 9% of members of the parliament. Are you not outraged?
But how did this happen? How can 64% of total votes win you 91% of seats? I believe that this is caused, although not certainly, by the unfair delimitation of seats, whereby rural areas with maybe 5000 voters are accorded one seat in Parliament, while an urban area with maybe 50000 voters are also accorded one seat in Parliament.
We really need better representation of seats in the Parliament that reflect the number of total votes more closely.
Actually, landslide is not too inaccurate a word, going by the explanation in Wikipedia:
Landslides can occur when one candidate or party is perceived as far superior to its opponents, through unfair elections, or as a result of particular voting systems which may produce distorted or disproportionate results.
Did you see that the proportion of seats relative to the number of votes seem to be biased towards one political party/group only?
UMNO – 35.9% of votes, 49.8% of seats (+14%)
MCA – 15.5% of votes, 14.2% of seats (-1%)
MIC – 3.2% of votes, 4.1% of seats (+1%)
Gerakan – 3.7% of votes, 4.6% of seats (+1%)
Did you see that the proportion of seats relative to the number of votes seem to be biased against the opposition?
DAP – 9.9% of votes, 5.5% of seats (-4%)
PAS – 15.2% of votes, 3.2% of seats (-12%)
Keadilan – 8.9% of votes, 0.5% of seats (-8%)
Numbers speak louder than words. These numbers tell me that there is something wrong with the electoral process in this country. Something that needs improvement. Unfortunately, I cannot propose a solution. Those out there who have any ideas should share them if they have any.
All I know I can do is to show up during the rally and make my voice heard. If you feel that there is something wrong with the electoral process in this country as well, join me at the rally this Saturday at 3pm in Dataran Merdeka.
Pic taken from The People’s Parliament
Hanky Panky In Ipoh Timur
October 26, 2007
Malaysians Say The Darndest Things! has moved to http://www.darnmalaysia.com (d-a-r-n, not d-a-m-n)
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On October 9th, I read a piece of “news” from thestar.com.my about the transfer of 2000+ voters from Sungai Rapat(Gopeng, MCA) constituency to Pasir Pinji (Ipoh Timur, DAP). I didn’t think much of it cuz last I recalled, Lim Kit Siang, the country’s Opposition leader from DAP won this seat by a huge, huge majority. In fact, thestar.com.my even spins this as a piece of news as a good thing: “EC puts things right”
Typical of the mainstream media (MSM) in Malaysia, did you know that’s not the whole story? thestar.com.my conveniently left out a LOT of details; details that were published by the more reputable Malaysiakini here (Subscription needed).
Since, some of who are like me are too much of a cheap-ass to actually subscribe to Malaysiakini, here are figures that I’ve taken from a post written in The People’s Parliament.
# of registered voters transferred from Sungai Rapat: 2231
# of newly registered voters or those transferred from other areas: 3024
# of new postal voters for Ipoh Timur: 3208
So, there is now an increase of 8463 voters in Ipoh Timur. That’s for time’s the number of new voters, and 6000 more that thestar.com.my conveniently left out. What great reporting/editing!
So what’s wrong? Here is why the numbers are so shady.
2231 from Sungai Rapat: The Election Commission has not given a full and concrete explanation on why these voters were transferred, only relying on “We have the legal power, Fuck you” excuse.
3024 new and transferred: I am one of the 3024. But are there suddenly 3024 people like me who came of age/decided to exercise their right? It’s kinda doubtful right? Since Ipoh Timur only had 40000+ voters the last time around.
3208 new postal voters: WTF are postal votes, I was thinking?
To those of you who don’t know as well, here’s what the Election Commission website tells you:
Postal voters normally comprise personnel from the armed forces, Police Field Force, election officials on duty, government officers serving overseas, students studying overseas, and spouses.
Ok, so where did 3208 new postal votes come from? In IpohTimur? I don’t see any new army bases or police stations or elections offices built right? How do they justify these numbers, you ask? Well, they don’t! “We have the legal power, Fuck you”.
So yes, based on my incredible powers of observation, there is certainly some hanky panky going on in my constituency. That is the problem with this country’s election process. The elections are being run by an Election Commission which is widely believed to be under the control of the government.
Seriously, I feel like this is cheating. I don’t like being cheated. I am sure a lot of people out there feel the same way as well.
That is why, I have decided to make a stand and make myself heard and seen on 10th November 2007. 3pm, Dataran Merdeka.
There will be a mass rally to submit a memorandum to His Majesty Yang Dipertuan Agong to press for freer and fairer election processes.
If you really want to tell people that you live in a free country, this is it. Let your voice be heard. Make your presence felt. Join me in demanding our rights as citizens to a free and fair election! More details here.
Pic taken from The People’s Parliament
