EC assures cooperation with proposed RCI

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KOTA KINABALU: Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof yesterday assured that they would be working closely with the proposed Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) , once it is set up.

“We have been invited during discussion on the setting up of RCI, and I believe an announcement will be made soon.

“I do not want to jump the gun, but I feel that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is very sincere in overcoming this problem as soon as possible. Even now, Sabah has to deal with the presence of illegal immigrants, be it adults or children.

“We want this to be a problem of the past, so let the leaders announce the Terms of References (TOR) and who should be sitting in the RCI. As an independent body, the EC will wait for any decision on the recommendations made by the parliamentary committee,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after launching the ‘EC meets political party leaders’ and the media session here yesterday, Abdul Aziz added that any other commissions are welcome to make recommendations to the EC, and it would be scrutinised by their panels.

“EC cannot be dictated by anybody, but we respect whatever recommendations or requests from others, like those from the Special Select Committee (SCC), to clean up the electoral roll, as we believe in finding justice and to improve the current situation for the good of all,” he said.

On another development, he urged nominated candidates to check with the EC office on whether they have submitted their election returns.

“A majority of them are independent candidates. When they lose, they take for granted the need to report their expenses. They will not be allowed to be nominated, as well as their agents, for failing to submit their returns to the EC,” he said, adding that no auditing was needed, and all they needed to do was back their returns with documents and expenses not exceeding RM100,000 for state, and RM200,000 for parliamentary seats.

Earlier in his speech, Abdul Aziz said the meeting was not an indication that election was drawing near.

“It is just an avenue for us to brief potential candidates on several issues, such as the seven approved recommendations submitted by the SCC, such as the use of indelible ink, no objection period, the layout of the polling centres, and voting for people with disabilities,” he said.

He said a total of 22 recommendations were submitted to EC, of which 10 had been reviewed where seven were approved and three rejected, while the remaining were still being studied.