Is EC Chairman mocking the public?

A Kadir Jasin
Tue | Nov 20, 07 | 6:44:03 am MYT

While still on the subject of general elections, which on Nov. 10 brought tens of thousand protestors to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to demand for fairer election, I must say that I find the Election Commission chairman, Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman's Nov. 15 statement intriguing.

His "I knew when the general election would be held but I won't tell" statement to the Press was in bad taste and out of place. It amounted to mocking the public and made the status of the commission undignified.

His statement can be read as an indication that the commission is in collusion with the government because only the government or, to be precise, the Prime Minister determines the date of the election.

Abdul Rashid's statement has the effect of confirming the Bersih movement's claim that the government parties have an unfair advantage over the oppositions and that the electoral process lacks transparency.

No less significant is the fact that the EC chairman's statement contradicted the stance of the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. When asked during the recent Umno General Assembly, Abdullah said he was yet to receive an inspiration on the date of the election.

For the record, "belum dapat ihlam" or haven't yet received the inspiration has been Abdullah's standard response to many urgent and difficult questions.

So who is lying? Or to be more palatable, who is not telling the truth - the PM who is still waiting for inspiration or the talkative EC chairman who said he knows the date but will not tell?

Bad information management and loose talks by a high official like Abdul Rashid can only lead to one thing - giving the Bersih campaigners more ammunitions to shot at the government.

Although Abdul Rashid had seen it fit to "tease" the public with his inappropriate statement, the general indications suggest that the general elections will be held after Jan. 29, 2008 when the EC is expected to complete its briefings and courses for returning officers and assistant returning officers throughout the country.

The first of the series started in Malacca on Nov. 15. The last, according to Abdul Rashid, would be held at the EC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 29, 2008. - kadirjasin.blogspot.com