Malaysian poll curbs benefit govt - rights body

Enlarge Photo Flags of Malaysia's ruling National Front coalition and the opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia are displayed...

Wed, Mar 5 11:03 AM

Malaysian government restrictions on free speech, freedom of assembly and the media will deny citizens a fair vote in general elections this week, a rights group said on Wednesday.

Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is considered certain to be re-elected in Saturday's poll, but risks a backlash by Buddhist ethnic Chinese and Hindu ethnic Indians, who complain of religious and racial inequality in the mainly Muslim nation.

The opposition, which wants to deny Barisan a two-thirds majority in parliament, the level needed to change the constitution, hopes to draw a protest vote over rising food and fuel costs, street crimes and an influx of cheap foreign labour.

But rights body Human Rights Watch said the authorities' manipulation of the electoral process seemed to aim at ensuring Barisan retains the majority it has held since 1969.

"Once again, elections in Malaysia are grossly unfair to the opposition," Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"Malaysia's ruling coalition is too comfortable with the status quo to allow reforms that would level the playing field."

Malaysian law and practice allow the ruling coalition to campaign freely but put severe restraints on opposition groups, with police denying them the permits needed for any gathering of four or more people, for example, the rights body said.

It accused the government of using the spectre of ethnic violence to deter public demonstrations and silence its critics.

"When opposition leaders and civil society groups critical of the government try to organise rallies, they are blocked at every turn," Pearson added.

"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."

Also clouding the fairness of the poll were curbs on the media, with the opposition locked out of state television and radio, as well as irregularities in voter lists and vote counting procedures, Human Rights Watch said.

"Voters in Malaysia deserve a chance for every vote to count and count equally," Pearson said.

"Given the vast array of anomalies in the electoral rolls, this looks increasingly unlikely."

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's 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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