Meaningless polls integrity pledge

 Meaningless  polls integrity pledge because the HighCourt of Kota Kinabalu are scared to trial my two General Elections 2004 and 2008 cases and instead just strike them out. The cases can still be refiled by any concerned citizen, Joshua

 

Najib, BN leaders sign polls integrity pledge

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/najib-bn-leaders-sign-polls-integrity-pledge

UPDATED @ 05:55:30 PM 20-02-2013

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

February 20, 2013

Najib and Low (right) hold a copy of the integrity pledge during a signing ceremony in Putrajaya, February 20, 2013. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 20 ― Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak and component party leaders signed today Transparency International Malaysia’s (TI-M) Election Integrity Pledge, a move seemingly aimed at showing the ruling coalition’s seriousness in playing fair at Election 2013. The pledge was introduced as part of the graft watchdog’s campaign to promote clean elections amid allegations of vote-rigging and widespread bribery during polls. The opposition has accused BN of maintaining its grip on power through such tactics.
“The issue of integrity is extremely important, and we would like to see candidates who stand in the next general election uphold this principle regardless of their political affiliation. This is imperative as a corrupt political system fundamentally undermines all other anti-corruption efforts.
 “It is a commendable effort for [the prime minister] to ensure all his political nominees are screened by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and, now, taking this a step further by encouraging them to make a public commitment for clean and fair elections.
“Should [the prime minister] be successful in ensuring all his candidates become signatories of the pledge, Malaysia will be the first country in the world to do so,” said TI-M president Datuk Paul Low,  in a statement released after the signing ceremony held at the prime minister’s office here.
Late last year, MACC Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel chief Datuk Johan Jaafar proposed that the government make it compulsory for all political parties to submit their list of candidates to the commission for vetting to ensure that they were “clean”, besides avoiding any undesired allegations.
Najib, who is also prime minister, threw his backing behind the suggestion by announcing last year that all BN candidates for the next general election must be vetted and cleared by the graftbusters.
The idea, however, met resistance from opposition leaders who said the MACC had no jurisdiction to vet potential BN candidates before the general election, which must be held by mid-year.
Leaders from the federal opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat insisted that only a public declaration of assets would ensure candidates are not corrupt.
Speaking to reporters after the signing ceremony, Low said those who signed the pledge will not be accountable to TI-M but to the public.
The TI-M president said the NGO will set up an email forum where voters monitoring the candidates can continuously give feedback or report violations at its website.
“It is now up to members of the public to be the eyes and ears to monitor their elected representatives’ adherence to these standards,” Low said.