A Couple of Questions

A few points which I hope will be investigated or clarified soon...

1) Why the no-show contestants?

The latest count shows that BN has won 11 seats uncontested, with another possibly in the bag as reports surfaced of the PKR parliamentary candidate in Kulim being investigated for not turning in his financial statements. Another PKR candidate was previously disqualified for the same reason. The PKR person who was to take on Azalina did not show up; apparently his family disappeared for a few days and some members resurfaced, but not the candidate-to-be himself. The student party whose lone candidate was to take on Badawi in a 3-corner contest, found himself physically barred by police when attempting to submit his nomination papers. PKR's man for Sandakan found his candidacy rejected by the EC without cause. The BN candidate-to-be who handed PAS and the Opposition its lone uncontested seat in Kelantan by being declared a bankrupt denied the charge.

What happened to the other 8 seats that went uncontested? What happened to those people who were supposed to contest? There have been allegations of opposition members being bribed (by whom, I wonder) to stand down. The Kepala Batas incident of candidates being physically intimidated was not an isolated one.

So here comes the inanity of the nomination day process. Why allow JUST 1 HOUR for candidates to submit their papers? Why can't it be a whole day? A person could easily be ineligible just for being caught in a traffic jam. And how can the EC make judgements on who is eligible or not in JUST 1 HOUR following the candidacy submissions? Don't they need to do background checks? And why can't the EC explicitly state WHY a candidate was rejected and provide supporting arguments for their decision?

And if those allegations of the POLICE using their might to stop candidates from entering the nomination centers are true... how dare they. But they've built a good track record of hindering with democracy with a little help from their chemical-laced water pumps, so should we really be surprised anymore.

2) How can an imprisoned person contest in the elections?

Manoharan, one of the Hindraf leaders now sitting in jail, thanks to the ISA, is a candidate in the Kota Alam Shah state seat. The lawyer said his imprisonment should not be a factor for voters trying to decide who to vote for. I don't even understand how the man is eligible - is this a loophole in the law that the BN will close through yet another amendment when they return to power? If Manoharan is imprisoned for more than a year, does he lose his seat, assuming he wins? A vote for him is a vote against the ISA, against suppressing the freedom of expression, and for raising the profile of the oppressed. But don't expect your streetlights to get fixed.