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An armed forces chief, no less, can vote in the 2004 general election nine years after he died!

GENERAL TAN SRI ABDUL Hamid Bidin, a soft-spoken no-nonsense soldier of old-fashioned integrity who rose from private to Malaysia's chief of the armed forces staff, had served his country loyally and with distinction. After he retired, he was ambassador to two countries and as senator, deputy president of the upper chamber. He died at 75 in 1995. His ambition was to retire a sergeant, but he proved the military adage that there is in every private's mess kit a field marshal's baton. But what we did not know is that he continues to serve the country with distinction from the grave. The electoral register lists him a voter nine years after he died. The omnipotent EC cannot be wrong. You cannot mount legal challenges to force changes to the register. The EC, you understand, do not make mistakes. I am a voter in the Bukit Bintang parliamentary constituency, and my name appears twice in the register: one under my new identity card, the other under the old. I had asked that one be removed but the EC did not. But it is a fair bet that General Tan Sri Hamid would not be allowed to vote now: his name would be removed. How could he remain after it is now clear, even the to the EC, that he could not come down to vote even if he wanted to, and deserves, at last, his eternal rest.

The EC, you understand, knows voters do not vote twice. People who died several elections ago remain on the register. One who migrated 20 years ago, and a citizen of that country for almost as long, is still on the rolls. Those who moved houses and areas continue to be listed at both constituencies. The EC denies that the National Front (BN) had paid people to travel up and down the country on polling stations to vote in as many as a score of constituencies on polling day; but then, in its view, if this did happen, the Opposition, not BN, is responsible. Meanwhile, the EC has refined its rules to help the BN. Candidates now have a three day cooling period after nomination day to withdraw from the contest, without losing their RM10,000 or RM5,000 deposit. The two-hour period for nominations to be filed is reduced to one hour. The final electoral roll is what is made available on the morning of nomination. Political parties who bought them earlier threw good money after bad for one can be sure the final list would contain names that are not in the old; and they have seven days to find out who are the new voters and persuade them to vote for them.

There is more. General Tan Sri Hamid's daughter-in-law, Datin Saidatul Said, is the National Justice Party (KeADILan) chief for Sabah. Her brother is the former Sabah BN chief minister, Dato' Seri Salleh Said. Her father is the former chief minister and Yang Dipertua Negeri (governor), Tun Said Keruak. When she went to the EC office in Kota Kinabalu two days ago to obtain nomination forms for KeADILan candidates, it wanted a formal authorisation from KeADILan headquarters. She asked for the forms to be reserved. When that was done yesterday (09 March 2004), the forms had run out, and she was directed to get them from Putra Jaya. The forms are sold at RM20 each. The EC could not explain why they ran out and why it could not bring in more forms. She is taking legal advice for a court order to force the EC to deliver the forms. How and why did the nomination forms run out in a state of so many political parties and shifting loyalties as a general election nears? The EC wants a well-ordered election campaign in which it is not tested to the limit. It believes the parties must work to its schedule, not the other way around.

Perhaps the threat to move the courts worked. This morning, the forms are readily available in Kota Kinabalu. But long lines have formed, and all and sundry want to contest. In Sabah, the vote go the highest bidder. Money plays a large part. The high and mighty want a clear run, and would happily pay over the odds - once it ran in the millions, but today, the figures are more modest - to be returned uncontested. They do not want their money supply to freeze, which could if they lose their seats. The Sabahans have jumped at this opportunity. It is a simple and effective way to earn some money. It costs only RM20 or RM40 if one stands for both parliament and state, hold tight until the three day deadline and demand what the market could bear, and walk home with the loot. This is why the forms probably ran out. Since market forces is the guiding force of this government, one is not surprised that the EC gets into it. So why should we be upset that enterprising Malaysian voters want a share of the loot too.

But all told, the EC is nervous. For all its vaunted independence, it must ensure a solid BN victory. If it does not, the EC chairman would be forced out in time. Failure to break the law so those who must win does not is a serious crime in this blessed democracy of ours. So the BN works closely with the EC so its victory is in no doubt. But it is not so straightword. The BN bigwigs are worried. The de facto law minister, Dato' Seri Rais Yatim, had to put his oar in: he warned that if the Opposition not to raise sensitive issues, it would have to pay the price. The presumption here is the BN could with impunity. Why do I notice an unbelievable nervousness in the BN and EC? It is the Opposition which dictates debate in this election. The issue is the islamic state, the first time it is since the former prime minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, declared Malaysia to be an Islamic state, without debate or parliamentary approval. PAS wants it debate. The BN, especially its dominant UMNO, cannot. When PAS challenged the BN chief and Malaysian prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, about his Islamic credentials, UMNO froze in fright, deeming it an unfair personal question. it is not. In an Islamic state, how its leader behaves is subject to public scrutiny and debate. But the BN has decided it would not address it head on. So Pak Lah would not be drawn into it. But that only puts him on the defensive.

M.G.G. Pillai

pillai@streamyx.com