Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Phantom-voter poser: EC kicks ball to NRD


The Election Commission (EC) has dismissed allegations that three 'phantom voters' exist in the electoral roll.It said the National Registration Department (NRD) database, on which the commission relies on when registering voters, includes the trio's particulars.However, it was at a loss to explain why the NRD website did not show results for them when a search was made.

"We just checked with Agency Link-up System (Alis) of NRD. We have all the details together with photos (of the three voters)," replied EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Yusof in a text-message.

Asked about the discrepancy with the NRD website, Abdul Aziz advised the reporter to get the answer from the NRD.Alis is the database used by the EC in registering voters, in order to verify the identity of potential voters.

The NRD also operates a website which allows the public to check the status of identification documents by entering the identification number. Tipped off by readers, Malaysiakini had found that the three names were shown as eligible voters in the EC online verification system, but could not trace their details on the NRD website.They are Farhana binti Abdul Rashid (MyKad: 840505715012), Basri Buru bin Alimin (Mykad: 250622715425) and Soessje Scwanne Jetty Silvana Groeneveld (Mykad: 380424715016).

EC amends record


In a related development, Abdul Aziz admitted that the registration of a voter named 'Kg Baru' was a mistake, and that the EC had corrected this following the Malaysiakini report this morning."The record has been amended - (the individual's) name is Noraini binti Abdullah," he said.A check with the EC online verification system confirmed this.

Last week, a voter named Mismah was found to have been categorised as permanent resident on the NRD website. She was 'upgraded' to citizen just four hours after the report was published.The NRD later clarified that Mismah was found to havehad been given citizenship in January, but did not explain the discrepancy on its website.

Pakatan Rakyat has claimed to have detected 1,597 such cases nationwide and demanded that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak call an emergency parliamentary sitting this month to debate the issue.NRD has yet to answer their allegation, while there has been no response on the emergency sitting.


Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/172472

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