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Anwar Vows To Reform Malaysia Electoral System

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has vowed to lead a “fierce movement” to reform the country’s electoral system and challenge the results of an election … Continue reading Anwar Vows To Reform Malaysia Electoral System


Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has vowed to lead a “fierce movement” to reform the country’s electoral system and challenge the results of an election he lost, starting with a rally of supporters this week.

Anwar has refused to accept the victory of the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in Sunday’s (May 5) election, saying that the result was tainted by widespread fraud, including the use of foreign immigrants to vote for the governing alliance.

Anwar said it is therefore the dictate of conscience to reject the election result until it is rectified and a reasonable justification is provided by the EC (Electoral Commission).

The opposition alliance won 89 seats in the country’s parliament compared to the BN’s 133, despite the ruling coalition receiving a minority of votes nationally for the first time in 44 years.

The 65-year-old former finance minister said the opposition had ample evidence to challenge the election result in up to 29 seats — enough to call into question the overall national result.

According to Anwar, his movement was able to monitor the boxes in the custody of the policeand the officers said ‘it is under their purview, and we cannot enter’. So for four days the boxes were there.

“You may trust these people like saints. You have crooks and corrupt people managing and you want us to accept that readily. We cannot compromise, with the need for fair election result,” Anwar said.

Anwar said tomorrow’s rally would mark the start of a “fierce movement” to reform the nation’s election system.

“I shall address fellow Malaysians tomorrow in Kelana Jaya Stadium at 8:30 p.m. fully dressed in black. This shall be a beginning for a fierce movement to clean this country from election malpractice and fraud, for there is no opportunity for renewal without a clean and fair election.”

The rally is planned to take place in a stadium with a capacity of about 40,000 people in Selangor state near Kuala Lumpur, which was retained by the opposition in state polls.

He called for the government to recognise the need for a real democracy.

“Please for once, for once, see the change in the mood of the people. Don’t think that you can continue with the semi-authoritarian manner in treating people like fools, like idiots. Don’t think the media should be treated like the manner (state newspaper) the Utusan is treating our people. They think the malay are so gullible and fools to consider all this politics is about the Chinese, and therefore you play that game. I am here and I remain committed, I will defend the rights of the Malaysian, be it Malay, Chinese, Indian,” .

Malaysia’s government has rejected the opposition’s fraud claims, saying the result was in line with opinion polls that had shown the BN with a substantial advantage in recent weeks.