EC changes 'Mismah' status in draft electoral roll

The Election Commission (EC) has changed the status of Mismah, a 'permanent resident' whose name had been entered in the draft electoral roll.

[Image]Based on a check of its online verification system at 2pm, under the 'record status', (highlighted in screen capture, right) it is now stated that her application to register as a voter was dalam proses pengesahan daftar pemilih (being verified for the electoral roll).

Her name had been included in the draft supplementary electoral roll that has been opened for public scrutiny for a week. 

EC head Abdul Aziz Yusof, when contacted, explained that the objection period had ended yesterday.
"Those who did not receive any objection will be gazetted (as elegible voters). Those who received objections will be subjected to a verification process," he said.

"(During the process) a public inquiry will be called, (enabling) both parties - the potential voter and the complainant - to be heard." 

Malaysiakini yesterday discovered Mismah had been categorised as a permanent resident (PR) in the National Registration Department (NRD) system.

The NRD online verification system, which allows users to check the status of an individual, shows that Mismah holds MyPR card No. 640704715238.

About four hours after yesterday's report, Mismah's status on the NRD online verification system had been 'upgraded' to that of a citizen. 

Abdul Aziz had earlier attributed this to technical negligence on the part of the NRD, insisting that only citizens are eligible to be registered as voters.

'NRD online database not updated' 

Elaborating on this today, he said he had contacted the NRD and was told that its online database had not been updated alongside the Agency Link-Up System (Alis).

[Image]"(It was only) when I called (them) that they realised they have not updated the names online," Abdul Aziz (left) added.

The NRD online database - used by the public to verify their status and details - is different from Alis, which is the reference point for the EC in registering voters, he said.  According to election laws, the EC updates the electoral roll every three months with a quarterly supplementary electoral roll draft. The names of all newly-registered voters, voters who have changed their residing addresses and voters who have been removed from the electoral roll, are compiled in the supplementary electoral roll draft.The roll is then displayed usually for one week, for public scrutiny, before it is gazetted and used in the next election. During the display period, members of the public can raise their objection to the names listed in the supplementary electoral roll.