Guarding the polls

In practice, democracy is simply a way of organizing ourselves in peace. This core principle assumes that freedom of expression and the jumble of rights making up the public interest can collectively overcome the threat of violence.

But if, on the contrary, free argument does not manage to prevent fouler means of engaging in dispute, then such civil liberties must be constrained by law. The proliferation of rules since the May 1969 riots may have restricted the country's "democratic space", as the politicos have endlessly contended. But they remain necessary to keep Malaysia's multi-racial plurality up and running, and its democracy sweet.

In most general elections since 1969, however, those rules have not had to be applied with much vigor. To their credit, political parties have largely adhered to the enforceable taboos on race and religion. But Islamic and other forms of extremism, their consequent backlashes and their trickery and tactics have been boiling over at the polls. Though far from widespread, clashes between party supporters and voter intimidation at the 1999 general election, and more particularly the by-elections thereafter, have provided enough reasons for the Elections Commission (EC)'s latent powers to be taken out of storage.

EC secretary Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar has warned that breaches of the peace during the election campaign period, including "lies and personal attacks", would be met with the full weight of the Elections Offenses Act. In the past, the EC has understandably preferred to admonish rather than conduct elections with a heavy hand. For the sake of its impeccable record, it might still be reluctant to get tough. But as tranquil as the voting on March 21 is likely to be, the commission's monitors will have to do more than keep an eye open for electoral misbehavior.

-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur