Saman SPR kerana nafikan hak mengundi (Malay/English)

[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih) telah membantu seorang pengundi untuk memfailkan saman terhadap Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) dan kerajaan Malaysia melalui firma guaman AmerBon, kerana menghalang beliau untuk mengundi dalam pilihan raya umum negeri Johor pada 12 Mac 2022 yang lepas.

SPR yang sepatutnya bertanggungjawab memastikan hak pengundian seseorang warganegara terjamin namun sebaliknya telah menghalang pengundi tersebut untuk membuang undi atas alasan Covid.

Pengundi yang memfailkan saman ini merupakan pengundi di kawasan dewan undangan negeri Skudai dan merupakan pengundi kali pertama. Beliau telah mengambil langkah berjaga-jaga yang sepatutnya seperti membuat ujian saringan kendiri sebelum pergi ke pusat pengundian namun telah dihalang oleh petugas SPR walaupun keputusan ujian tersebut adalah negatif.

Writ saman kepada SPR dan kerajaan Malaysia yang telah difailkan pada 8 Jun 2022 dibuat di atas beberapa faktor:

• Keputusan dan tindakan SPR tidak rasional dan salah dari sisi undang-undang
• Pengundi tersebut mempunyai hak untuk mengundi sebagaimana peruntukan Perkara 119 Perlembagaan Persekutuan, Akta Pilihan Raya 1958 dan Peraturan-Peraturan Pilihan Raya (Penjalanan Pilihan Raya) 1981
• Undang-undang pilihan raya tidak memperuntukkan kuasa kepada SPR untuk menafikan hak pengundi atas alasan penyakit berjangkit dan masih dalam tempoh kuarantin
• Undang-undang pilihan raya tidak memperuntukkan keperluan mendapatkan kebenaran pegawai kesihatan daerah untuk membolehkan seseorang mengundi
• SPR secara salah telah mendelegasikan kuasanya kepada pegawai kesihatan daerah dalam hal kebenaran untuk mengundi.

Menurut peguam Beatrice Chin daripada AmerBon, walaupun ketika pilihan raya tersebut ada peraturan daripada Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia berkenaan Covid, namun keputusan muktamad untuk pelaksanaan pilihan raya adalah di bawah kuasa SPR bagi memastikan hak seseorang pengundi tidak terjejas.

Justeru, Bersih sekali lagi ingin menegaskan bahawa SPR selaku satu-satunya badan pengurusan pilihan raya di Malaysia wajib memastikan pilihan raya boleh disertai oleh semua rakyat Malaysia yang berdaftar sebagai pengundi.

Terdapat pelbagai kaedah yang boleh digunapakai oleh SPR bagi memastikan proses pengundian sekiranya SPR dan kerajaan Malaysia sanggup untuk turun padang dan berdialog dengan pelbagai pihak berkepentingan bagi mendapatkan langkah-langkah yang lebih proaktif dalam melaksanakan pilihan raya dalam situasi Covid. – Bersih

English version

SPR sued for denying the right to vote

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Election (Bersih) facilitated a voter to file a suit against the Election Commission and the Malaysian government through the firm AmerBon for preventing him to vote in the last Johor state election on 12 March 2022.

The Election Commission, which should be responsible for guaranteeing the voting right of a citizen, has instead denied this voter the right to cast his vote because of Covid.

The oter who filed the suit is a voter in the state assembly constituency of Skudai and is a first-time voter. He had taken the necessary cautionary measures, such as conducting a self-test before going to the polling station, but was stopped by Election Commission workers even though the test result was negative.

The suit against the Election Commission and the Malaysian government, which was filed on 8 June 2022, was based on several grounds:

• The Election Commission’s decision and action was irrational and illegal
• The voter has the right to vote as provided in Article 119 of the Federal Constitution, the Election Act 1958 and the Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations 1981
• Election laws do not provide any power to the Election Commission to deny the voter’s right to vote on the grounds of infectious diseases and [their being] still in a quarantine period
• Election laws do not provide any requirement [for voters] to obtain any prior permission from the district health officer before they can vote
• The Election Commission had wrongfully delegated its power to the district health officer in the matter of voting

According to Beatrice Chin from AmerBon, although during the election there were regulations from the Ministry of Health on Covid, the final say on the conduct of the election was still with the Election Commission to ensure a voter’s right [to vote] is not affected

Bersih once again emphasises that the Election Commission, as the sole election management body in Malaysia, must ensure that an election can be participated by all Malaysians who are registered as voters.

There are various methods that can be used by the Election Commission to ensure the voting process [can carry on as usual] if the Election Commission and the Malaysian government are willing to go down to the ground and [engage in] dialogue with various stakeholders to get more proactive measures in conducting elections, especially in a Covid situation. – Bersih

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

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