MalaysiaWatch

Monday, June 24, 2024

PENSIONS IN MALAYSIA COULD COST UP TO RM643 MILLION PER YEAR?

Malaysiakini has an interesting article about the costs of pensions for MPs and states' assemblymen.

In the Malaysian Parliament, there are 222 MPs and according to M'kini, each MP costs about RM2.2m

However this is too simplistic a cost estimate and takes no account of the actual costs incurred after considering other factors.

If we take a 20-year cycle and taking into account different factors, the cost suggested is way below the real costs.

Malaysiakini suggests a total cost per annum of RM497million.

If you check out my table, you can see that the actual cost could be more than RM643million.

That is a 29% increase and shows the danger of too simplistic an analysis.

(Please click on table for a clearer image)

The following assumptions have been made.

Every GE, there is a turnover of 25% of MPs and the retiring MPs are entitled to the pension.

At the starting point, assume that 50% of the retired MPs are already enjoying the pension and at each GE, 25% of the 222 MPs will retire.
Therefore at every 4 years, those on pension will increase by 25%.

At term5, the number of retired MPs reaches 388 and the total pension costs is RM12.68 billion over the 20 years; equaling to an average of RM634mil per year just on pensions for MPs!

Another factor that needs evaluation is the second or re-marriage of MPs who have retired.

This assumes that the pensions transfers to the current wife of an MP.

This remarriage factor also needs to be considered for pension costs.

In the example, it is assumed that MPs who divorce and remarry are 75% of the MPs and the average number of wives is 2. The pension is calculated at 50% and they extend the pension payout by another 15 years on average.

So the total costs over the 20 years for this extended pension costs is RM185 million and the average cost per year is RM9.25 million.

It is suggested that more analysis can be done using existing data on MP pensioners to check out the reasonableness of the scenarios suggested.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

COVID 19 IN MALAYSIA -SOME SUCCESS SINCE THE MOVEMENT CONTROL ORDER ON 18TH MARCH 2020

Malaysia has seen some success since the Movement Control Order (MCO)
since18th March 2020; despite the recalcitrance of some residents to come
forward and be tested after attending a religious gathering for whatever reason.

Just to explain the graph I created for a simpler presentation that most people
can understand - I use the Daily Increase(DI) in the number of cases identified
and the Daily Moving Average(DMA).

The DI had a spike after the MCO was imposed; caused by the mass exodus
during the 24-hour period before the deadline.
Thankfully, things look under control now and the trend has been trending
down in the past few days - about 6%.

Strict measures have been imposed in a few areas with zero movement
outside of homes and residents have been targeted for medical screening.

There has been talk to allow the Ramadan bazaar, where small business folks
are allowed to set up stalls for the public to buy food.
This has alarmed the public as many feel that usual crowds during such
bazaars will undo the great work that has been done by the front-liners
- the Doctors, the Nurses and other Healthcare staff; plus the Enforcers.

So I'm suggesting that the Ministry of Health should come up with some
universal guidelines on the targets to be met before the MCO can be relaxed.
This could be a DI of below 50 and DMA of 3.

What do you think?

Thursday, October 24, 2019

WHY PLUS should NOT be sold to third parties

So the government is waiting for a better offer before it decides to sell PLUS, the main operator of the North-South Highway. About 8 years ago, there was a MGO for PLUS and the company was delisted from BURSA MALAYSIA and now operates as a non-listed company so that the public does not see the Annual Accounts. Management fees are high for a basic infrastructure company.

I suggest this proposal that will be a win-win for all concerned. Both the government and taxpayers will benefit from such a scheme that will give back PLUS to the people.

How this is achieved will be selling Khazanah's stake back to the public for RM5bil to RM6bil. This will be done via a new IPO bundled with a 5% bond that expires with the toll agreement in 2038 or just over 18 years.

Suppose 2 million Malaysians subscribe in the IPO for RM1000, that will raise RM2bil.
If the loan stock option is taken-up at RM1500 each, that will raise another RM3bil.
If we want to raise RM6bil, the IPO will be RM1500.

So for RM2500, a taxpayer will be an owner in PLUS and enjoy the rewards. In fact many Malaysians owned PLUS until the government allowed Khazanah to kick out the minority shareholders.
All shareholders will be given a 10% discount on NSH tolls.

Therefore, I urge the government to sell PLUS back to the people.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

1MDB Scandal - Take the POLL

There has been a lot of information and misinformation right from the moment the 1MDB scandal broke and the PM has only declared that the monies in his accounts were not for "personal" use, whatever that implies.
Thus far, we have had allegations of money laundering, tampering of evidence, blackmail, murder and even conspiracy.
This poll is just to get a feeling of what is your reaction. Thanks for your participation!

survey service

Thursday, July 9, 2015

The Main ISSUES about the WSJ and 1MDB

They say a picture paints a thousand words so this flow-chart may help you to understand the 1MDB fiasco and why the Malaysian PM is fighting to keep his post....

Monday, June 15, 2015

Missing MH370, missing billions of 1MBD and now missing oil tanker? What's next?

Maybe we will have a missing Prime Minister!

(photo:thanks to astroawani)

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

A Good Example of a BAD Bureaucracy?

There is this story that has a happy ending but I just wonder how many applicants died before they could receive the good news?
One more reason why local council elections would benefit the ordinary citizens who are struggling to survive.
20 years to solve cleanliness and traffic congestion issues! I wonder how long it will take to find solutions for problems in the proposed nuclear power stations?

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

How a Nation Like Malaysia Can Avoid Water Shortages

Iguassu Falls, Argentina/Brazil

It will be a shock for Malaysians to realise that Selangor will enforce water rationing by the end of February 2014.

This will have a major impact on investors and also productivity as households and factories have to cope with an interrupted water supply. The idea of having to store water in buckets and other containers sounds rather third-world so we should examine how this water fiasco has managed to develop.

There are three main players in the water saga.

SYABAS controls the treatment and water distribution of the state. It was created by the authorities in a privatisation deal that many feel is not fair to consumers.

SELANGOR authorities who have to work with SYABAS to supply water to the treatment plants, mainly from rivers.

SPAN is the Water Commissions Board that has authority to manage water resources.

This article from The Malaysian Insider explains how we have been "taking-water-for-granted"

According to the article, "Our archaic water pipes have been left unrepaired for decades and this has given rise to leaking pipes and wastage of precious water, as highlighted by our unrealistically high non-revenue water ratio of 36.4%. Some 1,994 billion litres of water was lost in 2012. By comparison, the non-revenue water ratios of Japan and Singapore are only 3% and 5% respectively."

This means we are losing more than 10 times non-revenue water compared to the two nations.
For every 100 cubic meters we treat and pump, 36 cubic meters are lost! It was also reported elsewhere that the SYABAS CEO enjoys a salary package of about RM600k per month but in any other company with such losses, the Board of Directors would probably remove him.

After the 13th General Elections when the Pakatan won Selangor state, the lack of good working relationship between SYABAS and SELANGOR authorities has caused the water supply system to degenerate.
SELANGOR wants control of the entire system but SYABAS is holding out for a higher price. Now even in a water shortage crisis, it seems the three parties cannot come together to work out problems. Instead we get the blame game blasted via the media.

As a resident of Johore, I have experienced this privatisation process or some prefer to call it PIRATISATION. First of all, there was an IPO about 10 years ago with the usual blurb by merchant banks about Johor state wanting residents to OWN a part of the water supply system.
Within 4 years, there was a MGO and investors were advised to sell and invest elsewhere to get better returns and during the period, not a single SEN was paid as dividends. Yes, the company was also taken private.

I believe the ENTIRE water supply chain should be under the control of states and not sold to a third party. However, the state can allow companies to take up a minority stake in the state company to provide management resources. In this way, consumers will not be held to ransom by conflicts of interest.

With this scheme, residents will know where to vent their anger when the taps run dry.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Post 13GE Price Hikes and How Trustworthy are Political Leaders?

Not very trustworthy it seems.
Within weeks of getting the mandate of the 13GE, the BN regime has taken swift action to cut the much-debated federal deficit that threatens the national economy.

Let us look at some of the measures:
1. Sugar price has gone up from RM2.50 to RM2.80 a kg and this happened even though the commodity price has gone down. The reason? The government signed a long term contract to supply the monopoly that controls sugar distribution in Malaysia.
2. The tariff for electricity is going up even though TNB had a profitable year last year.
3. Toll rates are reported to be going up as one minister has claimed it is just part of the toll agreements signed with the different companies. malaysiakini has the story about Impending toll rates

It seems the second and third items will impact consumers the most, excluding the Prime Minister who will enjoy his RM2 million benefit on electricity charges at Putrajaya. Of course the executive jets will still be available to the favored few at RM400k per overseas flight.
Not forgetting the impending GST that is going to hit us all in the pocket.

I propose we should demand a new toll agreement scheme for both present and future toll companies.
The basic deal must include the following:

1. All toll agreements cannot be extended after the initial 20 or 25 years.
2. The government must take back all toll companies after the agreement expires.
3. At the end of the period, the government may re-tender the toll company and the new company may collect toll for maintenance and safety services; at a rate between 20 to 30% of the last toll.
4. All toll companies must publish their annual accounts in national newspapers and government websites. At present PLUS has been taken private so we will not know annual profits.

Any widening of expressway etc cannot be compensated by extending the toll period and must come out of profits.
All roads will be toll free unless toll companies guarantee that no motorist is delayed more than 10minutes during the four major festive seasons. The toll free period will be for three days for each festival - one day before, the festival day and one day after.
We must impose such KPIs on toll companies so motorists get a fairer deal.

Let's face it.
We have not held the government too accountable by giving them such a long mandate.
It is time we asked them to prove they really know how to manage the economy.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

malaysiakini and Testing Female Trainees before National Service - MORE UNNECESSARY SPENDING?

According to this news report, the government plans to increase the NS intake in 2014 to 150,000, an increase of 10,000 based on popular request; supposedly based on demand by young Malaysians.

There is another news report there will be mandatory pregnancy testing for female trainees based on the argument that there were six cases of women who gave birth during the 3-month program since it began in 2004.

Let us examine some numbers to check the financial justification for such an expenditure:

Since 2004, the NS program has been run for 10 years.

Let us assume that the average intake has been 100,000 per year intake and the boy/girl ratio on average has been 50/50 - this gives an average of 50,000 females each year.

Since 2004, a total of 500,000 females have completed NS and of these 6 have given birth at camp.

Suppose the cost per delivery and related costs is RM5000 - that gives a total of RM30,000.

Suppose a mass pregnancy test conducted at 1Malaysia clinic costs RM5 only?

This means to test 500,000 females will cost RM2,500,000.

How does the NS scheme justify such expenditure?

You spend at least RM2.5mil in order to prevent the cost of RM30,000?

It looks as if this government has no basic idea to rein in rising costs. Instead of increasing the intake by 10,000, it should simply fill up the spaces of those who have chosen not to go for NS as many claim it is just a waste of time anyway.

In fact those girls who delivered in camp should have been invited to return to camp and have one or two sessions to share their stories so that others could avoid their mistakes if it was an unwanted pregnancy.

I also recommend the NS Directors should go and attend basic Mathematics as they seem to propose measures with such illogical reasoning!

photo: thanks to scottthong.wordpress.com

Thursday, July 25, 2013

malaysiakini has NOT asked "Why Have Taxpayers been MADE to PAY RM10 billion EXTRA for three POWER PLANTS?"

I believe it was Dr Mahathir who remarked that corruption is so bad now it is above the table.

One major contributing factor is that many deals are not via public tender but via direct negotiations.

Thus it is not surprising as without competitive bids, there is plenty of room for errors and commissions. Even after the RM600mil Scorpene scandal, the authorities have not improved transparency - in fact, things appear to have become worse. Now it is not only done over the table but even reported as news in the national press!

The first section relates to the purchase of power generating plants over two years under the Star article 1MDB in RM1.2bil deal.

The second report was done in China under the Star article

Genting sells Suzhou power plant for RM22.34m

All these deals are being finalised by 2013 and thus the purchases make interesting reading; especially since Genting is involved in two of the deals, namely Mastika and Suzhou.

This analysis is different from the two earlier ones and for this table, the percentage of the company purchased is converted to the effective MW purchased.
Thus if 50% of company is bought, then the amount paid is for 50% of the plant's MW as no other details are given.
The column "Actual MW bought" totals the MW of the 3 Power Stations paid by 1MBD and the total is 5704MW for RM12,000 mil.

Now if we analyse the Suzhou deal made by Genting, they could only get RM0.35mil per MW.
If we apply this rate of RM0.35mil per MW to the 1MBD deals totalling 5704MW, the total cost should only be RM1985Mil and not the RM12000mil.

So what has happened to RM10billion of taxpayers funds?
It certainly looks rather fishy without further justifications.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Something FISHY for the Auditor-General's Annual Report of HORRORS?

This chart is an analysis of two business reports in the Star, Malaysia.

The first section relates to the purchase of power generating plants over two years under the Star article 1MDB in RM1.2bil deal.

The second report was done in China under the Star article

Genting sells Suzhou power plant for RM22.34m

All these deals are being finalised by 2013 and thus the purchases make interesting reading; especially since Genting is involved in two of the deals, namely Mastika and Suzhou.

To explain a little about the table, the "adjust to 100%" is to enable price comparisons as if the entire MW capacity had been bought over.
To do a basic evaluation of the purchases, you need to compare the column "Cost per MW" and this is given in RMmil.
At first sight, it appears that 1MBD has been paying too much for a standard equipment like a power generator.
If you look at the Genting sales, the China deal is almost 10 times sheaper than what 1MBD paid in Malaysia. Was it really on a "willing buyer, willing seller basis'? What was the compelling reasons for such an vast disparity in prices?
It does seem that there has been a very expensive learning curve as 1MDB has managed to reduce the Cost per MW from RM3.27mil to RM1.14mil but even RM1.14mil is three times more expensive than the China deal.

Anyone like to suggest why we are paying so much more for a standard utility? This can only translate to higher electricity tariffs.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

malaysiakini and Looking at DEVIOUS DEALS of 1MBD

malaysiakini has this interesting response to the minority shareholders defending the attractive pay package of the CEO of Puncak Niaga - Puncak Niaga chief should be axed, not rewarded and this must be the first time in Malaysian history that a company that is not really making profits has the CEO getting the support of minority shareholders.

I attended the HSBC AGM in London last year and the CEO and other directors came under heavy criticism for the bank's money-laundrying charges in the USA.

Meanwhile, the wheeling and dealing goes on in Malaysia. The chart above is drawn from details of a story in the Star Business Section of 6th July 2013.

It seems that 1MBD has not been really prudent in the purchase of power producing plants. The chart shows the deals made in the past two years and the numbers are not very appealing.

If you study the numbers in the right column, you will note that Malaysian taxpayers paid almost 3 times for the Mastika deal in 2012 compared to the latest one Jimah that is almost finalised on "a willing seller, willing buyer" basis.

One only wonders if the buyer was "too willing" in the first 2 deals or is there a learning curve involved?

Of course the analysis is only dealing with the raw data. Other factors can be considered like:

1. How profitable are the companies?

2. How well maintained are the plants?

3. How obsolete are the plants?

4. What contracts do these plants have with the main purchasers?

Do you think the agreements are DEVIOUS or OK?

(note: price adjusted to reflect 100% ownership to enable comparisons)

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

malaysiakini and BECOMING a Better Nation

There is this interesting story about a serious mistake in the swearing-in of Ministers before they were appointed as Senators. Some will claim it is a small matter but it does reflect the attitude of national leaders who should know better - now this is a good example of how leaders set the tone for the nation.

The following story is fiction but hope springs eternal. Let us all pray that this will happen.

Following national unrest after the 13GE when the BN received less than 49% of the popular vote but still managed to retain control of the government, the government established a Parliamentary Select Committee to examine and recommend how the election process can be improved so that the concept of “one man, one vote” can be applied more effectively and give Malaysians the opportunity to select the government of their choice.

The Speaker is the Chairman of the PSC for Democratic and Human Rights Practices and he will be explaining the important steps to strengthen democracy and the democratic process for Malaysians.

REPORT
Since the May 5th GE, it has been unfortunate that many Ministers made mistakes in their new roles and instead of healing the wounds and reconciling Malaysians, some even made matters worse.

These include:
1. The Home Minister asking the Malaysians who do not support the BN to migrate elsewhere.
2. The Minister of Trade advising Malaysian traders that they had the right to boycott business owners who support the opposition.

These public remarks have not helped the domestic economy and many foreign investors have delayed their projects. Our GDP shrank by 2% in the last quarter and unemployment has risen to 5%. The KLCI has also fallen by 100 points in the past 2 months.

The PM realized the challenges facing the economy and wants to address the many issues and truly wants a genuine reconciliation of all Malaysians after the divisive General Elections.

In fact the PSC has been meeting in secret for the past 3 months in order that our work could go on without any outside interference.

All the 9 members, including 4 from the Opposition, are loyal citizens whose main concern is the security and progress of our nation. We agreed to meet and submit this report only to the press and without any conditions from the Prime Minister’s office or the Cabinet.

Such is the state of the nation that you are going to be the first one to be told of our recommendations. We ask that you publish our Press Release in full and then comment on the proposals.

The 13GE saw a record turn-out of voters at 85.4%. This augurs well for Malaysia as it shows that Malaysians want a bigger say in the management of the nation and willing to demonstrate their commitment to the nation.

The BN managed to secure enough seats to retain power; even though it lost the popular votes. This has created unrest among the population as this is the first time the BN has lost the popular vote and exposed many Malaysians to the practice of gerrymandering for the first time.
The Elections Commission implemented many changes in the elections process but there were complaints of missing names and the missing indelible ink is a serious issue.

Here is the summary of our main recommendations: As our work is being reported directly to the Press and not to the Cabinet, it shows that the Prime Minister is sincere in wanting major reforms for Malaysia. We request that you consider the proposals seriously but any constructive feedback can be made directly to the PMO.

GERRYMANDERING
At present, the ratio between the largest and smallest constituency is in the order of about 9 – with Putrajaya having 15,000 voters and large towns having more than 100,000. In effect, 1 voter in Putrajaya has the same voting power as 9 voters in a city. This is grossly unfair.

We propose new guidelines for delineation so that by 2016, this discrepancy be reduced to maximum of 2 between any 2 constituencies.
We propose the following to reduce gerrymandering.
Urban seats to have population between 40,000 to 80,000 and will split into 2 after reaching 80,000
Semi-urban seats between 30,000 to 60,000 and will split into 2 after reaching 60,000
Rural seats to have between 20,000 to 40,000 and will split into 2 after reaching 40,000.

The classification between urban, semi-urban and rural seats will removed by 2020 or when the seat reaches the population of the next classification; whichever comes earlier.
In other words by 2020, seat classification is going to become obsolete and we will adopt only one yardstick- the 40,000 guideline.

In order to reduce the effects of gerrymandering in 14GE, all smaller seats like Putrajaya will be merged with an adjacent constituency so that the population criteria will be maintained by 2020.
It is proposed that the postal codes will be the main factor to decide how constituencies will be redrawn.

ELECTIONS COMMISSION
We propose that the Elections Commission should become an independent body and not operate from the PMO. A PSC to have oversight on Democratic Practices and Human Rights will audit and report all irregularities of the EC to Parliament.

CLEAN UP OF ILLEGAL CITIZENS
As the RCI on Project IC revealed, some 100,000 foreigners have been given Mykads without proper documentation and the NRD is largely responsible for this problem.

Thus we have established a special task force to re-check all these instant citizens via a 2-stage process.
In stage 1, all will be given a red Mykad and the blue Mykad will have to be returned pending approval. Proper checks will be conducted for birth certificates, citizenship papers, proof of residence, marriage certificates etc before the Mykads are re-issued.
Those who do not qualify will retain their red Mykads and eligible to apply for citizenship after 5 years.

THE ROLE OF NGOS
The PSC recognizes the important role of NGOs in a democratic nation like Malaysia. Hence we have agreed that BERSIH officials be appointed to assist in the clean-up of the electoral rolls.

CARETAKER GOVERNMENT DUTIES AND CODE OF CONDUCT DURING ELECTIONS
We propose that a caretaker government be appointed during the 14 days of the elections campaign. Also no government machinery will be used for polls campaign and all official cars etc will be surrendered to the caretaker government.
The outgoing PM will appoint a caretaker subject to the approval of Parliament. No special policies may be announced that

VOTER EDUCATION
The population will enjoy access to all political parties via main stream media like newspapers and government TV stations. The Multi-media Ministry will also educate voters on the voting process and conduct during polls.
It is a shame that some voters were not aware that the indelible ink was only for marking their fingers only – some voters thought the ink was to be used for marking the ballot paper!

GENERAL ELECTIONS IN DECEMBER 2015
As it is the general consensus that the 13GE has too many incidents of fraud, failure of indelible ink, phantom voters and illegal voters to be considered free and fair elections, we propose that the next GE will be fixed in December 2015 to enable ALL Malaysians to have a free hand to decide their future.
All these points will have to be approved by Parliament in a special sitting within 30 days of this Press Conference.

CONCLUSION
The Prime Minister believes that these proposals will enable Malaysians to understand more clearly the workings of a maturing democracy. We request that newspapers and other media have a special role to play in this great endeavor. With your cooperation we can build a great nation based on truth and justice.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

malaysiakini's Reports and the State of the Nation after the 13GE

Please click2 on picture to enlarge.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

malaysiakini and Improving Malaysia’s Elections Systems(2)

Apart from improving the security during storage of the postal and advanced voting ballot boxes for which it was reported that the police did not allow the scrutiny promised by the EC Chairman, there are other matters that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the polling process.

First of all, the EC Chairman should not be making empty promises that are not going to be kept:

Publicly stating that the ballot boxes could be guarded by agents of political parties like even sleeping in the police stations was a mistake unless he really has the authority to order the station chiefs to allow such a facility. One wonders if ballot boxes are safe in police stations when so many remand detainees still get killed in police custody.

Then there was the boast of the indelible ink that would last for “x” days. I only washed dishes twice on polling day and Presto! My finger is as clean as before. No need for any special cleaning liquid. Now he gives the feeble excuse that people are trying to subvert the EC’s credibility. In my mind, the EC lost much of its credibility long before the GE. The EC now claims that after all indelible ink is not the main control of voters as the electoral roll is the main determinant.

I agree with that IF the EC had taken more active steps to clean up the rolls before the elections as they had 4 months to do so with the cooperation of BERSIH and the Selangor state government. Why did they not accept such cooperation if it was incapable of doing so?

It is not rocket science to use computers to throw up lists of suspicious candidates with the following characteristics:

Set 1 Same date of birth(same Mykad) Similar name
Set 2 No definite address
Set 3 More than 10 voters at same address
Set 4 Mykad was replaced (can verify with NRD for supporting documents like birth certificate, citizenship documents etc)

Just accepting a Mykad as proof of eligibility to vote is not adequate and if these background reports are done every 6 months on a regular basis, the number of phantoms will disappear.

A Select Parliamentary Committee should have oversight of how the EC conducts activities to verify the existence of such voters. If we have a credible system of checking regularly for phantom voters, the use of indelible can actually be replaced.

I believe indelible ink can cause spoilt votes as the ink can create smudges in the wrong places.

THE POLLING PROCEDURES

First of all, there were many new KTMs appointed by the EC and many did not have adequate training or guidelines about the procedural matters especially with respect to Borang 13 and 14 – the latter is actually required by law to be given to the polling agents after the ballots have been counted and finalized(if a recount is done).

Now there has been a police report about a KTM refusing to issue the Borang 14, an offence that carries a fine and /or jail term. Why would any Elections Officer want to do that? In my own saluran, the KTM offered to allow us to copy his Borang 13 and 14 and overall, he was quite a good person but he was also a newbie, often checking his notes and often communicating with officials outside the room.

Why do KTMs even have to be civil servants?
To me the KTM is an important role in the democratic process and hence the KTM can be any qualified Malaysian who has undergone a test to prove his competence.

The Elections Commission should in face conduct perhaps a week-long course each year and maintain a register of those who pass the practical and theory tests.

I suggest KTMs should provide a performance bond of say RM1000 so that they will be punctual and diligent during the polls. That way we will not have KTMs wasting time by refusing to provide copies of Borangs 13 and 14.

After all, it is quite a serious offence according to the Elections Laws.

PAPERWORK

The Borang 13 and 14 can be upgraded and redesigned as follows:

These forms can be multi-copy with different colours-one for the EC records and three more copies for the candidates.

The following section will be included at the bottom of the form. “I certify that I have received the Borang13(or 14) from the KTM” Signed by: Paca1 Paca2 Paca3 -------------------------- ------------------------------- ---------------------

If the KTM returns the Borang13 and 14 without the signatures of the pacas, it is automatically deemed an Elections offence.

SPR PRINTOUT ON VOTING CENTRES

I suggest the information that one gets on entering the Mykad details is inadequate. Only the school name is given and that does not provide enough info for a new voter to locate the voting centre. The full address shbe provided plus the GPS information so that no one will need to search for the proper voting centre.

COMPUTERISED VOTING?

I wonder how far are we from the era of digital voting that can solve many of the current complications like double voting by the military, phantom voters and other methods of cheating.
I envisage such a system would have a Mykad reader similar to those used in banks so a fingerprint can be scanned. We can also have a digital camera to record the faces to tracebacks can be done in cases of possible fraud.

However instead of re-inventing the wheel, we can adopt the Brazilian system that has been used since 1996 and the experience has been good according to this article.
We should study the Brazilian model as it appears harder to cheat compared to ballot boxes that fall from the skies!
UNFAIR REPRESENTATION?

Many observers have commented that the EC’s delineation of constituencies creates an unfair representation for the majority of voters. The EC should be ordered to develop a fairer size distribution for Parliamentary seats instead of the obvious evidence of gerrymandering.

Putrajaya is a case in point where about 16,000 civil servants are basically given the same representation as 80,000 voters in an urban constituency – this is a gross injustice!

I suggest parliamentary constituencies be divided as follows:

Urban constituencies 40,000 to 80,000 voters with a spilt after the population increases beyond 80,000

Semi-urban 30,000 to 60,000 splitting after 60,000

Rural 20,000 to 40,000 splitting after 40,000

For Putrajaya, it can be treated as a semi-urban block and merged with another constituency.

How to delineate the constituencies?
A simple method is to use postal codes as the starting pont - if not enough in one area, can use 2 or 3 postal codes.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

malaysiakini's FREE reports during Malaysia’s 13th General Elections and How to IMPROVE the Elections Process(1).

Congrats to m’kini for its free reports during Malaysia’s General Elections and particularly this story about the ordinary citizens trying to protect ballot boxes.

I suggest that the concerted efforts of BERSIH and other NGOs have improved the election process somewhat but there are still loop-holes that may jeopardize the integrity of the elections and these could be classified under administrative and legalistic issues.

First of all, the Elections Commission should not be reporting to the Prime Minister; especially since we do not appoint a caretaker PM during the polls and hence there is a conflict of interest in the present system.

Of course there has been wholesale abuse of government machinery like executive jets and helicopters and even civil servants are used during the campaign period. Dare the EC Chairman take action on such abuse?

The treatment of postal votes too leaves much to be desired.

I have the following questions with respect to postal votes:
1. How are the ballots allocated to different seats?
2. Is the register of postal votes determined with the same cut-off date as that of normal voters?
3. When is the allocation of constituency done?
4. What is the longest time allowed between the time postal votes are cast and the polling date?
5. What is the grace period for the ballots to be sent to the counting centres?

These questions indicate some areas which can affect the final polls outcome if postal votes can be tampered with during the period after voting to arrival at the Main Counting Centre.

SUGGESTIONS

I suggest that since military camps have different sizes, the number of postal votes is officially determined for each camp each year and that number cannot be increased for the elections. We simply cannot have the whole army transferred to a particular camp just so the Minister of Defence enjoys a safe seat!

The transfer cut-off date for registering of postal voters should be the same as for the civilian register. The postal votes should be allocated to a specific constituency each year at the same time as the number of postal voters.

The time postal votes are cast and the polling date should be kept to a maximum like 3 days as follows:
1 day balloting and transfer to a secured location that must have cctv surveillance with online transmission to 3 remote sites plus security guards.
1 day transfer to the Main Counting Centre(MCC)
1 day at Main Counting Centre I wonder if keeping ballot boxes at police stations is a good idea when we still cannot guarantee the safety of prisoners in remand.

There should be a definite cut-off window of time for the ballot boxes to arrive at the MCC – I suggest between 3pm to 4pm so that various checks on seals etc can be completed before the actual counting. Late ballot boxes will not be allowed in.

There should be only one entrance at the MCC for the postal ballot boxes to be brought in and details of the transport should be provided to all parties.

THE COUNTING PROCESS.

As the m’kini story indicates, the independent candidate lost by just 64 votes out of the total cast, it appears that a recount would be the most suitable manner to determine the results instead of having to file an Elections Petition that will take months to resolve.

I would make the following new rule for a recount if all the Borang 14 and ballot boxes have been properly handled. The 4% recount rule at the polling stations is subject to the following:

“The difference in the winning margin must be 1% or less and after this recount at the Main Counting Centre, each party of the 2 main contestants and the SPR can ask only ask for an additional recount ONCE.”

Table is compiled from Comments in the article – for illustration purpose only. Lau Lee (BN) 7,905 votes; Koh Boon Heng (Ind) 7,841 votes; Jamaluddin (PKR) 2,435 votes; Mohd Nor (Ind) 174 votes; rejected & unreturned 717 votes; MAJORITY 64 votes. Let’s see how the 1% rule applies to this scenario. BN 7905 Ind 7841 PKR 2435 Ind2 174 Spoilt 717 Total 19072 Majority 68 % of total 0.36

In this case, if we apply the 1% rule, a recount must be done. This better than putting more workload on the justice system and reduce bias as the votes are direct evidence and the people are the best protectors of our democracy.

If such a recount takes place, we can have perhaps 5 sets of counting teams so that the entire process of counting about 2000 ballots will take about 90 minutes. Surely this is better than waiting for the results in court?

photo: thanks to m'kini

Monday, May 6, 2013

13 General Elections - a day as a Counting and Polling Agent

I attended the training for PACA many months ago and during the early days, the number was not more than 30 on a good day.
In fact I lost some interest after a while as the polls were delayed until the end of Najib's term and the training seemed haphazard.
Then about two weeks before the elections, there was an SMS advising those who had received training to attend a refresher course and so my wife and I went for that - now the numbers had increased to some 50 to 60 persons and the number of young faces was significant.
When we had the last training on May 1st, the number had grown by leaps and bounds and the room was filled to capacity; with more than 200 enthusiastic volunteers.
Then on 4th May during the last-minute briefing, our MP hopeful addressed the volunteers and the atmosphere in the room was full of energy-with even a new batch of green PACA wannabes who were no doubt inspired by the mega-rallies in the JB area; especially with Lim Kit Siang contesting in Gelang Patah. On polling day I woke at 4:50am as I wanted to prepare some sandwiches and also have breakfast before reporting for duty at the polling station in Taman Melodies, where we used to live. We arrived before 7am and were able to enter the teachers' car park of the private school and entered the polling station via the back gate. It could be considered a security breach as all the controls were at the front of the main entrance. We had a last-minute briefing and went to our respective stations(saluran)at 7:30am. The polls officer was a young courteous guy and at first there were three female clerks in charge of the various duties like identifying the voter, painting the second finger on the left hand with indelible ink and the issuing of the two ballot papers, one for Parliament and the other for state. The voting opened at 8am sharp and the turnout was heavy, with no lull in the proceedings. My relief polling agent took over at 10:30am and my wife and I drove to Taman Pelangi to the school where we voted for the past two elections. On the way we passed other polling centres and noted the heavy turnout. So we were pleasantly surprised to be able to park within 100 meters of the school entrance, wait two minutes to verify our saluran and then walk straight into the polling station without waiting at all. We were done with voting within five minutes. The only cheating I saw was the clerk at the SPR checking outside had a small piece of paper about A6 sized with a X marked on the BN symbol and the word "undi". I wanted to report her but was not familiar with the pacas in the school and she had hidden the paper under her work when It was my turn. The other problem with the polling at the school was that the ink used was not really indelible and my finger was totally cleaned up just after two sessions of dish-washing! What a waste of public funds - apart from the cost of the ink , maybe RM8 million and also another admin charge for the extra clerk at thousands of polling stations nationwide. So we were able to return home to catch up on some sleep before we were to report back for the next session at 4pm. At 4:30pm we reported for the final stage and there was no one waiting to vote. In fact from 4:30pm no one turned up to vote. At 4:45pm the polling officer announced that the station be closed but there were objections from one of the SPR clerks and also the two polling agents. So the station remained open till the official closing time. A note on the indelible ink: we were cheated by the supplier or the SPR as my finger became totally clean after just two sessions of washing some dishes!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

malaysiakini is FREE for 13th GE - Now this is a SONG for FREE Malaysians!

If you like this song, you can find the words by scrolling the comments below.
Suggest Pakatan leaders can try it out during their ceramahs!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The13th GE - don't just READ malaysiakini and get angry; Get Out and Do Your Part!

Some Malaysians are already complaining about elections overload and that is understandable from the constant stream of messages from the MSM and online magazines plus Facebook that is a major social medium used by the political parties and even concerned citizens.

By now you could have decided to vote one way or another or maybe still undecided if you are even going to the polls as you believe it's a waste of time anyway - both sides may not appeal to you.

If you are undecided, this video may give you some insight on why you need to consider the things that are important to you and help make the changes you want.

If you want changes, there is no other way than for you to get out of your very comfortable zone and doing more - but what can you do?

Here are some suggestions: these activities help to protect and strengthen the democratic practices but some training is required. Check the Tindak Malaysia website now.

Become an elections observer
Become a counting agent
Become a polls agent

You need not be a member of any political party to be a volunteer. Please Google and find out how to contribute your service.

If you want to become more involved, here are some activities to educate yourself in how politics is done in Malaysia:

Attend ceremahs
Help in canvassing for votes for candidates - volunteers are always welcomed!

For those who are not able to physically involved, the least you can do is to share on FB ideas that you have read about how to bring about change in Malaysia.
Don't just share on FB but copy and paste on your wall as that prevents cyber-troopers from deleting postings.

Discuss the elections with your friend and relatives.
Go and vote early on polling day

At least when the election results are announced, you will know you did something worthwhile for the nation's progress.