The Malaysian Bar - MCA yes to ‘no tax, no vote’ proposal

Home

News

Legal/General News

MCA yes to ‘no tax, no vote’ proposal

Friday, 03 February 2012 10:54am

©The Sun (Used by permission)
by Karen Arukesamy and Hemananthani Sivanandam

PETALING JAYA (Feb 1, 2012): The MCA has endorsed the Election Commission (EC) proposal to bar non-tax paying overseas Malaysians from voting in parliamentary or state elections as absent voters.

According to MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, it is a good proposal as no country in the world gives blanket approval for its overseas citizens to vote.

"All the countries have various conditions, they have no blanket approval," he said.

Chua told reporters this at the DRB-Hicom Chinese New Year open house today.

Chua said it is one way to ensure that all votes are accounted for.

On Monday, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof disclosed that the proposal is among those to be submitted to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reforms.

"Imagine if you are staying overseas, you vote for anybody you like but you don't bear the consequences, unlike those who are staying in the country," Abdul Aziz said.

Citing several countries as examples, Chua said that in the United States one must be a taxpayer to be eligible to vote.

"In Taiwan, if I am not mistaken, you must stay in the country for about six months continuously before you are allowed to vote.

"In India, if I am not mistaken, or even in Australia, if you leave the country for two years or more, you are not allowed to vote," he claimed.

PSC chairman Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili, when contacted, said the matters raised by the EC will be discussed at the PSC meeting on Feb 9.

PSC member P. Kamalanathan of the MIC told theSun that the committee is willing to consider overseas voters and has asked the EC to come up with criteria to qualify the overseas voters.

"The EC is doing what the PSC has asked for. We asked it to come up with criteria that would qualify overseas voters and it is saying that Malaysians overseas must have some regular connection with the country," he said.

Kamalanathan said this is also one of the feedbacks from the civil societies which attended the PSC public hearings.

"Many NGO representatives have asked that some criteria are set for overseas voters," he said.

Set as favourite

Email This