RWY Sports Law Conference 2013

On 26^th November 2013, Richard Wee & Yip in partnership with LexisNexis and in collaboration with the Sports Commissioner’s Office, embarked on a pilot project which would kick start RWY’s very own professional development programme called the RWY Legal Learning Lab. In tandem with exploring the frontiers of Sports Law in Malaysia, the main purpose and objective of the RWY Sports Law Conference (RWYSLC) was to create a platform to generate discussion and exchange views about Sports Law.

This inaugural conference saw 70 delegates in attendance at the Tournament Room of the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC). These delegates spanned from representatives from numerous national sporting associations, officers from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Advocate & Solicitors and those involved in the sports business. The conference even saw an international delegate who flew in from Singapore solely to attend the conference.

As the sun began to rise over the picturesque and prestigious golf course, the Opening Ceremony of the RWY Sports Law Conference began at 9.15am with a short prayer. Mr. Richard Wee then gave the opening word by providing a background story of how the RWY Sports Law Conference was conceptualised and why it was important and timely for us to discuss about the relationship between sports and the law. Apart from that, he also expressed RWY’s gratitude and appreciation to the Sports Commissioner’s Office and to LexisNexis Malaysia for their immense support and guidance since the inception of the idea of the conference.

The Guest of Honour, YBrs Tuan Harus Bin Che Su, Timbalan KSU (Strategik), Kementerian Belia Dan Sukan then took the stage to give the Welcoming Address and officiated the conference on behalf of YBrs Encik Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Youth and Sports, who, unfortunately, was unable to attend the same.

After a short tea break, the conference resumed at 10am. The first session of the conference titled “Sports Contracts.. Starting Block or Finishing Line?” was moderated by Mr. Yip Huen Weng, a Partner at RWY.

Like how it is described in a 100 meter race, is a sports contract a starting block for an athlete to start his career in sports giving the athlete the freedom and liberty to focus only on his/her sporting career? Or would it be an athlete’s finishing line or an end to his/her freedom, where everything the athlete does would be governed by the four corners of his sports contract? Can a happy medium or compromise be found between these two extremes? And what happens in the event a dispute arises from such sports contract? What would be the best way to resolve such a situation with minimum of distraction to an athlete?

To share their views on the topic, RWY had three (3) very distinguished and respected speakers.

The first speaker, Dr. Jady @ Zaidi Hassim, a Senior Lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), is the foremost academician on Sports Law in Malaysia and author of “An Introduction to Sports Law in Malaysia”. In an attempt to provide the delegates with the historical aspect of Sports Law, Dr. Jady addressed the preliminary question of “What is Sports Law?” by touching on the traditional, moderate and positive view of Lex Sportiva.

Dr. Jady views sports contracts as a finishing line as it defines the terms of the relationship between two parties and it creates specific obligations and duties. According to Dr. Jady, sports contracts are shifting towards collectivism and unionism in that the balance of bargaining power between the club / sports organisations and the player rests with the former. Dr. Jady believes that this is because of the slow process of the legal change itself. The law in its partnership with sports has lagged behind its interaction with other commercial aspects of our society.

It is Dr. Jady’s aspirations that a union organisation and a system of industrial relations law in sports can be established under the Ministry of Youth and Sports and at a federal level. Only then will we see the real starting blocks for athletes who enter into sports contracts in Malaysia.

Up next, Malaysia’s very own Sports Commissioner, Tuan Ahmad Shapawi Bin Ismail, spoke of the challenges and issues faced in the structure of Sports Law in Malaysia. According to Tuan Shapawi, although sports bodies in Malaysia are required to register with the Sports Commissioner’s Office, they remain a free body and are bound by their own respective constitutions. The Sports Commissioner’s Office merely supervises, but does not control the sports bodies. Tuan Shapawi strongly feels that the constitutions of sports bodies, although managed and decided by the body itself, ought to be in line with the Sports Development Act 1997 and Dasar Sukan Negara in order to create a more organized structure across the board for all sports bodies in Malaysia. The duty ultimately lies on the sports bodies to properly and fully understand their functions, roles and responsibilities – and to administer the respective bodies accordingly. In addition, it is important for athletes to comprehend the role of law in their lives, which is strongly entangled with their position as athletes in the world of sports.

After an insightful talk by Tuan Shapawi, Professor Datuk Sundra Rajoo, the Director of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA), discussed about Sports Arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution for sports disputes. According to Datuk Sundra, sports arbitration in the Asian region is rapidly growing due to the nature and requirements of sporting disputes; speed, fairness and neutrality – which are not offered in the traditional courts system. A strong arbitration framework is able to fill this void and provide the necessary services to the athletes, sporting federations and all sporting participants across Malaysia. In fact, arbitration of sporting disputes is already being administered globally with huge success such as by the IOC through temporary arbitral tribunals overseeing the Olympic Games, by CAS which provides a final forum for dispute resolution of sporting disputes worldwide and by the World Anti Doping Authority who administers the Anti Doping Code.

At the RWYSLC, Datuk Sundra also revealed that KLRCA has signed an agreement with Switzerland-based International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) to serve as the official host of an alternative hearing centre for the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). The CAS alternative hearing centre in KLRCA provides sports dispute resolution capabilities through arbitration and mediation according to international sporting rules, including cases pertaining to doping charges, television rights and sponsorship contract issues.

After a coffee break, the conference resumed for the second session, “Sports Chatroom”, which featured three prominent sportspersons: former national squash players Azlan Iskandar and Sharon Wee, and Malaysia’s top national swimmer, Khoo Cai Lin.

A brief background on the speakers of the 2^nd session:

a)               Azlan Iskandar – former World No. 10 squash player, Founder of Azlan Iskandar Squash Academy (AISA), Chief Executive Officer of Sportspin Event & Athlete Management and author of “Basic Rules & Techniques for Squash”;

b)            Sharon Wee – professional squash coach, Founder and Head Coach of Sharon Wee Squash Pro, former World No. 18 squash player, TV presenter and sports commentator for Astro Arena Channel 801; and

c)             Khoo Cai Lin – multiple SEA Games Gold Medallist, Olympian (400m and 800m Freestyle) and member of the Malaysian National Swim Team.

As the moderator, Mr. Richard Wee led this interactive session between the panel of speakers and members of the floor. The speakers gave us insights and opinions on their view of the law and sports, their concerns and challenges as athletes and former athletes, as well as what they would want from the law to assist them. The general consensus was that athletes need to be educated about Sports Law as long gone are the days where a sportsperson can be ignorant about their rights.

Khoo Cai Lin brought up the example of sponsors using an athlete’s image for advertising purposes and not informing or remunerating the said athlete for the same. Azlan advocated that a structure and standard operating procedure must be put in place within the sports industry to counter the many grey areas which are left undefined. Sharon, on the other hand, suggested that sports bodies start thinking like a business entity and perhaps even have a special commercial arm for business development and a marketing department to come up with marketing strategies which will help attract sponsors.

Despite the fact that an athletes’ commission exists in Malaysia, the welfare of athletes are not looked after today. Calls were made for the Sports Commissioner’s Office to look into this alongside the idea of an athletes’ union.  

On that note, the conference concluded with lunch where the noise level in the Golfer’s Terrace reflected the discussions that had spilled over from the sessions.

As a closing word, RWY sees Sports Law as a new and challenging frontier for not only lawyers, but all parties involved in the sports industry. As our country inches towards professionalism in sports, so should all other components of sports; one of which is the law. It is imperative that the legal services march along or, better still, march ahead in the grove of sports to ensure that our sportspersons, sports associations, and sports companies will be serviced accurately and professionally by lawyers.

As such, we hope that the RWY Sports Law Conference was as fruitful and rewarding for the delegates as it was to us. We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all who participated in the conference. Already, RWY is planning the next Sports Law Forum and Sports Law Conference respectively in 2014.

We strongly believe that the conference is not a finishing block. Conversely, it is the starting line to a greater future for the Malaysian sports industry and we aim to create heightened awareness in the world of Sports Law.

·               Detailed coverage of the RWY Sports Law Conference 2013 - http://storify.com/lesleylimaili/rwy-sports-law-conference-2013

·               Twitter - #RWYSLC and #SportsLaw

·               Videos of the conference – search “RWY Sports Law Conference 2013” on YouTube

by Lesley Lim & Jyh Ling

RWY - Legal500

Richard Wee & Yip are pleased to announce that the firm is listed at Legal500, as a recommended law firm for Dispute Resolutions. 

This is by no means the achievement of the dedicated current team at RWY and also the former team members of the firm. 

We also thank all our clients who supported and believed in us, and continue to engage RWY to bridge the gap. 

Thank you. 

My Internship experience at RWY – Cheah Yee Ling

During my summer holidays I had the opportunity to intern at RWY in the month of September. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity given to me for the reasons which I will espouse below.

Mr Yip unfortunately was away for roughly 3 out of 4 weeks of my internship. However, that did not affect my internship as there were plenty of capable lawyers at the firm to guide me through tasks. While it could be said that the time I chose to be at the firm was unfortunate due to the lack of cases being heard at court, I would argue otherwise. While Mr Richard was extremely apologetic that several cases that were scheduled to be heard at court were adjourned, I have no regrets with joining the firm as I still had the chance to attend several court hearings. This was extremely valuable as it exposed me to how the court functions, and how a lawyer is to conduct oneself in court, as opposed to what has been popularised on television, where lawyers stroll in and argue a case. It has also taught me that there is a lot of background work that has to be done before an argument can be won, or even to determine whether an argument can be made.

During my time with the firm, besides watching court proceedings, I managed to transcribe cases, attend meetings with clients, observed how Mr Richard gave a presentation to a room full of potential litigants on the strengths and weaknesses of their case, assisted the sorting out of documents, and even helped in the organising of RWY’s very first sports law conference, where I was even allowed to tag along to a meeting with the Sports Commissioner!

I also learned how to do the more “trivial” things as some would call it, such as photocopying, faxing and mailing letters. However, I must say that these tasks were actually extremely eye-opening as I have never came across a situation where I had to utilise a fax machine or send a letter, what with the existence of e-mails. I’ve learnt that these tasks, though seemingly inconsequential, are actually vital to the smooth running of a firm. These are things that are never taught in a classroom and can only be learnt through experience.

One other aspect that I was extremely grateful for is how I was treated as an equal. Mr Richard, as well as all the associates treated me as a lawyer, and not just an intern. While my knowledge of the law was still rather shallow at the time of my internship (having just finished my first year of legal studies) everyone at the firm was very patient and took time out of their busy schedules to explain to me the facts and issues of a case, and what legal principles could possibly apply in those situations.

All in all, the brief one month spent at RWY was definitely time well spent for me. The things that I picked up from this internship were things that just are not taught in university – they are skills that can only be acquired through hands-on work within the field. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at the firm for accepting me, and for allowing me to gain invaluable insights into the many complexities of the legal world.

My experience as an Intern at RWY - April Tay

It was my 3 months break and I decided to do something with it rather than lazing around and turn into a couch potato. So, without any expectation, I sent in my resume to RWY (a firm introduced by a close friend from my hometown, Melaka) and hoped for the best.

When I received the news that I was accepted as their attachment student, I was overjoyed. (Too bad I was in the bus when I received the news. I would have screamed and jump about like a mad bunny). Why the hype? Well, to know that your bosses are the co-founders of Safer Malaysia and I will have the privilege to work with them, it is an honour.

Before I even started my one month of attachment, I was given the opportunity to follow the associates (Ezhan and Sarah) for a two days trial in Seremban Court. During my one month of attachment here, I learned how to transcribe, to draft affidavits, to do all the basic comb bindings, and the classic Photostatting. The types of trials I attended in this one month range from simple contract cases, family cases and complicated corporate cases. I even have the opportunity to witness a new precedent being set by one of RWY’s very own associate.

The experience I gained from this short period is so overwhelming that I myself, until today, cannot believe that it is even achievable. I even have the opportunity to work along side with Penny, Kak Sal and Aunty Wee. They taught me how to file litigation files and they are so very patient with my ever hyper aura. They taught me how to do banking, posting and how to be a really thorough receptionist!

Apart from that, I even have the opportunity to sit in while a client consulted Mr Richard on a particular case. I admire how the associates here handle their clients; with integrity, honesty and punctuality. This firm holds true to their motto; Bridging Gaps; bridging the gaps between the public and the law and bridging the law and the community with Safer Malaysia.

To my two masters (Mr Richard and Mr Yip), I am truly grateful for this opportunity and I will never forget the experience I had in RWY. I really appreciate how Mr Richard, with his ever packed busy schedule, managed to guide me on the Law of Trust.

I wished I could have more time in this firm but nevertheless, whatever I managed to grasp while working here, will forever be imprinted in me. Thank you once again for this opportunity. Even though I am physically not working in the firm, but I still have the opportunity to continue working with Safer Malaysia; something which I believe in strongly, even before I met Mr Richard and Mr Yip and the firm. To know that I am able to help, though not much, in Safer Malaysia, affirms me that I am doing my part in contributing to a safer environment in the near future for Malaysia. 

By April Tay 

September 2013

Selamat Hari Raya 2013

Selamat Hari Raya to all friends of RWY. Have a good break and see you again after the long holiday.

Election Laws : Postal & Advance Voting

Introduction

The general election held in 2013 was a stepping stone for Malaysia’s democratic process. For the first time, advance voting was introduced to the nation – where citizens who meet the relevant criteria would be eligible to vote before the actual polling date. Furthermore, GE2013 marks the first time in Malaysian history where postal voters of a general kind abroad are allowed to partake in the voting process.

Nevertheless, one question remains: How much do we know about postal and advance voting? Is the nation – including all officials and candidates, well-educated enough to understand the procedure thoroughly and be able to prevent an abuse of procedure?

What is Postal Voting?            

            As the name suggests, postal voting would simply mean voting via post.

            In gist, voters who are eligible to vote via postal voting would first have to apply to be a postal voter. Upon acceptance of their application, postal voters would be given details - including what the voter has to bring, when and where to pick up his/her ballot, and more importantly, where to cast the vote. The postal voter could opt to cast the votes at the embassy by dropping their ballots into the ballot bag and have the embassy “post” the votes on their behalf; or to courier the vote back to Malaysia to an election official or any persons who would then submit the vote personally to the EC officials before the calculation of votes.

Once your application to become a postal voter has been approved, you will no longer be able to vote in person in Malaysia. This is to ensure that electors would not practice double voting. A person may only cast a vote if he or she is on the Electoral Roll, as it is a statutory offence to vote twice.

           

Who can be a Postal Voter?

According to R 3(1) Elections (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003, citizens who are eligible to register as postal voters includes absent voters who are certified by the Election Commission (“The EC”) to be an election officer who would be on duty on polling day; police and armed forces personnel; member of any public services who would be on full-time duty in a post outside Malaysia during polling day; a member of the EC; or a member of any category of persons designated as postal voters via notification in the Gazette.

An “absent voter”, as per R 2 Election (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002, means a citizen aged 21 and above on the qualifying date, and is a serving member of the armed forces of Malaysia or other countries; public personnel who is on duty outside the boundaries of Malaysia on the polling date; full-time students overseas or who is living with his/her spouse overseas at the date of application for registration to become an elector. It is interesting to note that this regulation gives spouses of public personnel and serving member of the armed forces in Malaysia an option to become an absent voter.

What is Advance Voting?

Based on R 2, Elections (Conduct of Elections) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2012, under the system of advance voting, the registered advance voters would cast their votes earlier than the actual polling date. For instance, while the actual polling date for the 13^th General Election was on 5^th May 2013, advance voters had casted their votes on 30^th April 2013 in 544 polling stations nationwide. The practice in GE2013 seems to suggest that advance voting is only carried out within Malaysia; eligible voters overseas could only vote via postal voting.

Who can be an Advance Voter?

            R 27A of the same regulation allows armed forces personnel, police personnel, General Operations Force personnel and their spouses who have already been registered as an elector under the Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002 to vote as an advance voter. R 27A further provides that the aforesaid serving members who are unable to vote on the advance polling day may also vote via postal voting.

            By cross-referring this regulation to R 2 Election (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002 as well as R 3(1) Elections (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003, it can be observed that both the aforesaid members and their spouses have the option to vote via postal or advance voting, but only one of the option may be exercised per election.

Benefits of Postal and Advance Voting

Postal voting allows Malaysians residing abroad to cast their votes even if they are unable to afford the time or expenses to join the voting process in their homeland. This shows that no matter where a Malaysian may be, he/she could still retain his right to vote for the betterment of the country. Moreover, the Priority Envelope comprising Form 2, envelope A and B would not be given to those who did not produce their identification documents. In other words, one is not allowed to collect the envelope on behalf of another. This prevention measure ensures that unclaimed votes would not be misused. Hence, the risk of vote stealing can be reduced, if not eliminated.

Similar to postal voting, advance voting aims to ensure that uniformed personnel still secures their fundamental right to vote despite having to work on the polling day.

Postal Voting: The Drawbacks

Postal voting has always been criticized for its lack of regulations and enforcement. For instance, if abused, postal ballots may be issued improperly to phantom voters on the electoral roll or in the names of those known to be overseas who have not actually applied to vote by post. Apparently, there are allegations that this has been done in the past elections in order to dilute the votes of genuine overseas postal voters.

It is also commonly alleged that in advance voting, uniformed personnel cast their ballots under the heavy scrutiny of their commanding officers. If such allegation is true, this may result in the compromise of the secrecy of votes as it is conducted in a closed area.

Differences between Postal and Advance Voting

First of all, as can be seen based on the regulations, normal citizens who are permanent students or residing with their spouses abroad are only given the option of voting via postal voting. On the other hand, advance voting is an option only exercisable by public officials.

Secondly, unlike postal voting where there are different procedures to adhere to, advance voting is much like an ordinary voting. Voters would cast their votes using the ballot papers; their fingers would be stained with indelible ink; and the ballots would still be opened on the polling day at their respective polling stations in the presence of party agents.

            Moreover, while the regulations for advance voting provide that the ballot boxes shall be kept in a polling station until the commencement of counting of votes, the postal votes, as per R 10(4) Elections (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003, merely requires for the returning officer to make arrangements for the safe custody of such ballot boxes, but not the venue. This issue will be addressed further later on.

Integrity of the Ballot Boxes

While the law provides rules and regulations for the safekeeping of ballot boxes, not all would realize that the relevant regulations are merely general, and certain important details have yet to be regulated by the governing rules. Among others, the most controversial issue would be with regards of the proper safekeeping of the ballots. For instance, what venue can be deemed as a polling station? Who defines the standard of  “safe custody”? Who may have access to the storing room? And most importantly, how can the nation be convinced that the boxes are so well-kept and protected that the chances of tampering with the votes are close to none?

After the collection of votes, the EC will have to transport these ballot papers from overseas to their respective returning officers within the country. It is unclear as to the cut off point for these ballots papers to arrive to their respective returning officers. This uncertainty may open up the door for unjustified delays, thereby leading to opportunities for the ballots to be tampered with.

R 14(1) Elections (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003 provides that each postal voter’s ballot box shall be opened by the returning officer in the presence of the agents. However, the time to open the ballot box is not specified. Instead according to R 14(3), the power is on the returning officer to give 24 hours’ notice in writing to each candidate or his agent about the time and place where the ballot boxes and envelopes within would be opened.

Moreover, as have been mentioned earlier, the regulations merely require for the returning officer to make arrangements to ensure that the ballot boxes are safely kept. However, the regulations do not specify (like what has been done for advance voting) whether the ballot boxes ought to be stored at the polling stations or otherwise. This leads to two concerns: Firstly, what amounts to “safe custody”? In other words, how safe is safe? For some, keeping the ballot boxes in a locked room suffices the condition of safe custody; for others, the storage room ought to be guarded with strong security system or with the supervision of parties’ agent. Due to the uncertainties of the regulation, the returning officers retain the discretion in determining the ambiguities of this matter.

On the other hand, in relation to the safekeeping of advance votes, R 27B Elections (Conduct of Elections) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2012 provides that the ballot box containing the advance ballot papers will be kept in the safe custody of the returning officer of respective election region or in accordance with any arrangement approved by the EC. By cross-referring this regulation to Elections (Advance Voting) Regulations 2012, R 21(g) provides that the ballot boxes must be kept and locked away a safe in the polling station until the day and time fixed for counting to commence.  It is rather doubtful as to the integrity of the polling station in which the ballot boxes will be kept. 

The Elections Act 1958 (Act 19) defines “polling station” as any room, structure, vehicle or vessel at the place appointed under Section 7, set apart and equipped for the purpose of polling and counting of vote. The issue arises as to which exactly is the “polling station” the regulation is referring to?  The integrity of the safekeeping is utmost important and the scope of “polling station” ought to be defined as clear and precise as possible to prevent discrepancies. It may be argued that the wide interpretation of polling station to include any vehicle, vessel or place appointed under section 7 may result in excessive discretion given to the returning officer in deciding the type of place to keep the ballot boxes.

The common practice would be to keep the sealed boxes in the police lock-up in which they will only be taken out for vote counting on polling day. EC workers are at liberty to check on the ballot papers from time to time without the presence of any polling agents. At some instance, the boxes are allowed to be removed from the police lock-up and kept at a different area under the observation of police officers until the polling day. The question arises as to whether the safekeeping under the custody of returning officer is reliable? Who else would have access to the safekeeping until the polling day? What is the integrity of the arrangements approved by EC?

R 27B further provides that the ballot box will be kept until the counting of votes on the polling day. On the same note, there appears to be uncertainty arising from “kept and locked… until…time fixed for counting to commence” as per R 21(g). When exactly should the returning officers open the postal voters’ ballot boxes on the polling day? What happens when the advance ballot boxes failed to arrive in time either for counting or final tally without any valid reason? Furthermore, supervision by parties’ agent during the custody is not allowed. Therefore, there is a need for check and balance mechanism so as to ensure the sanctity and integrity of the safekeeping of postal voters’ ballot boxes.

Suggestions for Postal Voting & Advance Voting

The names of retired police and military personnel should be updated and be removed from the electoral roll of postal voters. We believe that opportunities and allegations for vote manipulation can be reduced if the regulations provide that advance voting for uniformed personnel would only be allowed strictly by way of application to the EC officers. In other words, the eligibility of uniformed personnel to be categorized as advance voter should not be allowed automatically.

Apart from that, it is our opinion that the tallying of postal and advance votes should be completed on the same day or before the actual polling day. This should be conducted in the presence of all political parties, documented, and published, and later reconciled into the main voting list. If the result of the postal ballots is published to the public before the actual polling day, the final outcome of the postal votes would definitely hold more credibility in the eyes of the citizens. Furthermore, the EC should be held accountable to the changes, if any, to the final result of postal votes. By taking this measure, the EC and all relevant officers would be able to negate all allegations of vote-tampering, a practice which have apparently been prevalent in many of the past elections.

The ballot boxes should be kept with a neutral party mutually agreeable by all political parties. In United Kingdom, upon receipt of a postal ballot pack in the post (or of the postal ballot paper and postal voting statement if sent separately), the returning officer would place it inside the postal voters' ballot box allocated to the particular constituency or ward. Candidates and their agents, representatives of the Electoral Commission and observers accredited by the Electoral Commission are entitled to observe the opening of postal ballot packs. The returning officers there are mandated to give candidates and their agents at least 48 hours' written notice of the time and location of every opening session of postal ballot packs.

          Another prevalent issue during the counting of votes is the integrity of the principal counting area. In almost every general election, there would be allegations of loss of electrical supply at the counting areas during the crucial counting period. Sometimes, there would be actual occurrence of an accidental cut in the electrical supply. Unfortunately, the perception which arises out of the scenario would lead to the suspicions among people that acts of tampering with the votes may have taken place during the blackout. In all fairness, probably nothing happened during the alleged blackouts. Nevertheless, the key in any election – especially in a national election which determines the next ruler of a particular nation and with so much at stake, the least EC could do is to address this perception and to find solutions to this recurring issue. For instance, EC may conduct the final calculation of votes at a brightly lit area with stable electrical supply. 

            While we are dealing with the issue of the unstable electrical supplies, we can’t help but wonder, are school halls the best voting venue available? While school halls may provide an easy access and is a cheaper alternative, but cheap and easy doesn’t quite cut it in this situation. The best voting and tallying venue would be a place where there are CCTV settings, with a guaranteed supply of electric all night and monitored by an independent EC. This is cost efficient and at the same time, it provides a recording of the entire voting up to counting process. In addition, we propose for all Vote Tallying Centre to be backed up with a generator in case of unexpected cuts in the electrical supply. This would definitely promote transparency in the process of votes being tallied, and get rid of unnecessary suspicions from the public eye.

               Late arrivals of ballot boxes ought not be allowed to be counted and should be disqualified. The time for the arrivals of ballot boxes should be regulated as specifically as possible. We suggest that all ballot boxes including postal and advance ballots should arrive at 3pm on the polling day. Any late arrivals should not be entertained.  

            Apart from that, in the long run, we believe that Malaysia would be more than capable of running and maintaining a computerized voting system. By relying on technology for citizens to vote, the votes would be tallied instantaneously within the computerized system, thereby leaving little to no space for the database to be tampered with.

However, be it computerized or traditional, every voting system should be heavily regulated and enforced by an independent body or a joint committee. The rules and regulations of election should not only be comprehensive, but also comprehendible – thereby allowing every laymen the platform to be educated about the voting regulations in Malaysia, and also to be so articulate and comprehensive that little discretion is retained by the EC. If the regulations governing the procedures are clear, precise and unambiguous, no party can circumvent the result to their own advantage.

            Ultimately, it is not the people who vote that counts, it is the people who count the votes that matter. Therefore, it is crucial to have a newly elected EC officials selected by a joint committee, participated by both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan representatives in order to call for a fair and clean election. Alternatively, such EC could also be a completely independent body, where its officers are carefully chosen from eligible members of the public to assist in a fair election.

Conclusion

Introducing postal and advance voting is an important, albeit small, step in the right direction for our country. With the necessary tweaks to the system, the future general elections could finally be devoid of all unnecessary suspicions and promote a transparent election. However, we must say that no matter how tight the rule becomes, or no matter how much we tweak the rules, the key to the election process is the integrity of the people behind the EC. The EC, being the referee in such an important process of our governance, must not only be seen to be neutral, but must actually be neutral.

Written By:

1. Wong Jyh Ling

2. Sofia Qaisara Chan

Research Team:

1. Rebecca Pang Huan-Ying 

2. Tan Shwu Yunn 

3. Sofia Qaisara Chan

4. Wong Jyh Ling

Other References:

1.     Lou Joon Yee, “Every Postal Vote Counts”, http://www.fz.com/content/every-postal-vote-counts, Accessed on 22^nd July 2013.

2.     My Overseas Vote, “The EC Chairman and Deputy Chairman Should Not Show Off Their Ignorance of Election Regulations by Blindly Defending the Indefensible”, http://myoverseasvote.org/2013/04/26/the-ec-chairman-and-deputy-chairman-should-not-show-off-their-ignorance-of-election-regulations-by-blindly-defending-the-indefensible/, Accessed on 30^th May 2013.

  Jean Sim, “Overseas Voter: A Malaysian Story Shared”, http://news.malaysia.msn.com/elections/overseas-voter-a-malaysian-story-shared, Accessed on 30^th May 2013.

4.     Asia One News, “Malaysia election: Boxes taken out for inspection of new ballots”,

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20130504-420237.html, Accessed on 4^th May 2013.

5.     The Star Online, “GE13: Malaysians overseas to vote on April 28”, http://elections.thestar.com.my/story.aspx?file=%2F2013%2F4%2F15%2Fnation%2F20130415222628#.UfdA_dJHIQk, Accessed on 15^th April 2013

6.     Sean Augustin, The Edge Malaysia, “GE13 EC – Don’t Confuse Postal and Advanced Voting”, http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/political-news/237163-ge13-ec--dont-confuse-postal-and-advanced-voting.html, Accessed on 28th May 2013.