Human Rights Watch Fears Malaysians Will Be Denied Fair Vote, Says Elections Biased

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: An international human rights group said Wednesday (5 March) it fears Malaysians will not get a fair vote in this week's general elections because of an uneven playing field favoring the ruling National Front coalition.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Malaysia to eradicate bias from the electoral process. Opposition and activist groups say the process is rife with irregularities, including government control of the media, restraint on opposition rallies, and names of dead people on voting registration lists.

"Once again, elections in Malaysia are grossly unfair to the opposition," Elaine Pearson, the group's deputy Asia director, said in a statement.

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

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's National Front, which has ruled since independence in 1957, is expected to easily win Saturday's (8 March) vote for 222 parliamentary and 505 state legislature seats.

The National Front won 91 percent of parliamentary seats in 2004 polls, but it has acknowledged it may win fewer seats this time amid public unhappiness over rising inflation, crime, and racial and religious tension.

The government has repeatedly denied the electoral process is unfair. Election Commission chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman says cheating has never been proven.

Human Rights Watch called on poll monitors to probe claims of fraud and irregularities and post vote tallies outside polling stations for greater transparency.

"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."

The rights group also called on the government to ensure equal state media access for all parties, saying television and radio gave no time to opposition candidates and newspapers had to report on the opposition "at their own risk."

In Malaysia, almost all media is linked to parties in the ruling coalition, and publications need printing licenses that must be renewed annually.

The Election Commission scrapped a plan Tuesday (4 March) to use indelible ink to prevent multiple voting, citing security concerns and a plot to sabotage the elections.

National police chief Musa Hassan said four people had filed reports saying ink had been smuggled into the country by groups seeking to cause confusion at polling stations. He did not elaborate, saying the matter was under investigation. (By JULIA ZAPPEI/ AP)