Postal voters in DUN Kuala Kubu Baru – Wong Koon Mun has problems in understanding simple news article

MCA ADUN for Kuala Kubu Baru, Wong Koon Mun used to misunderstand my statement and it is most unfortunate that he repeated the same mistake two days ago when he openly criticised me for trying to stop spouses of postal voters from becoming postal voters on polling day.

He further criticised me that my statement is against the spirit of democracy as my suggestion discourages spouses of postal voters from casting their votes on polling day as “they have to travel all the way back to their hometowns to vote”.

I believe Wong Koon Mun has problems in understanding simple news article that I seriously believe that he should take up a tuition course by the Selangor State Government under the Program Tuisyen Rakyat Selangor (PTRS) in order for him to understand what I said exactly on 20th February 2012.

I challenge him to show evidence that I said specifically that I suggested that spouses of postal voters, mainly army personnel and police officers, should not be enlisted as postal voters but “they have to travel all the way back to their hometowns to vote”.

What I said very clearly on that day, was that spouses of postal voters should just cast their votes on the same polling day in a normal polling station, just like any other voters instead of allowing them to vote in army camps a few days earlier than normal polling day. The reason I gave was that spouses of postal voters do not have any official duties to be carried out on the polling day. Thus it is unnecessary for the EC to enlist them as postal voters.

Although there are provisions for postal voters’ spouses to choose to become postal voters, such provision should be reviewed based on the reasons stated above, that the merit of postal voting system is to allow army personnel, police officers and any other civil servants with duty on polling days to cast their votes on the polling day. What duties do spouses of postal voters have on polling day to the extent that they have to become postal voters and that they cannot vote in the nearest polling station to their camps? Why such double standards when many East Malaysians working in Peninsula (or vice versa) or Malaysians working or studying overseas are not enlisted as postal voters? Is this democracy?

Wong Koon Mun further challenged me that I should lodge complaints with EC instead of seeking public and media’s attention by publicising the matter. I would like to clarify categorically that before I had the press conference on 20th February, Hulu Selangor DAP Parliamentary Liaison Committee Chairman, Mr Ch’ng Boon Lai, had already lodged 33 complaints with EC. Therefore, I do not understand why Wong Koon Mun put up such meaningless challenge on me.

I also said that conventionally, postal voters tend to support Barisan Nasional more than the oppositions. I firmly stand by my statement unless Wong Koon Mun can produce evidence to show otherwise.