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Malaysians will be denied fair vote: activists

Malaysians will be denied a fair vote in general elections this weekend, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday, accusing the government of muzzling the opposition and manipulating the electoral process.

"Once again, elections in Malaysia are grossly unfair to the opposition," the global rights monitor's deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson said in a statement ahead of Saturday's ballot.

"Voters in Malaysia deserve a chance for every vote to count and count equally," she said. "Given the vast array of anomalies in the electoral rolls, this looks increasingly unlikely."

New York-based HRW said the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century was intent on retaining its two-thirds parliamentary majority and unwilling to allow reforms being demanded by activists.

It said that already tight control on the media had become even more glaring during the campaign, with state-run and government-linked outlets observing a virtual blackout on the opposition.

While the government held rallies with tens of thousands of people, dissenting voices were refused permission to hold public meetings and peaceful protests were dispersed with the use of tear gas and water cannons.

HRW said that in the face of major irregularities in the election process, there were concerns the government would manipulate the voting in closely fought districts.

"Malaysia's ruling coalition is too comfortable with the status quo to allow reforms that would level the playing field," Pearson said. "When opposition leaders and civil society groups critical of the government try to organize rallies, they are blocked at every turn. Yet the usual excuses about unruly protesters and blocked traffic are never mentioned when the ruling coalition wants to get its supporters out on the streets."

A decision by election officials to scrap plans for the introduction of indelible ink at Saturday's poll suggested a conspiracy to help the government win, said Malaysia's hardline opposition Islamists, the Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS).

"The announcement validates PAS' claim that there exists a Barisan conspiracy with cooperation from the election commission and other government agencies to ensure an undemocratic Barisan victory," PAS spokesman Roslan Shahir told reporters.
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