Allow current EC commissioner to complete term

WE, the members of G25 Malaysia, agree with Bersih 2.0’s March 6 statement calling for support for the Election Commission (EC) against the statement by the former EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar for the current chairman, Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, and the other EC commissioners to resign merely because of the change in government. Since Azhar’s appointment in 2018, the EC’s good name has been lifted through the reforms and actions the commissioners have taken, including those in the nation’s by-elections. They have instilled a good sense of transparency, integrity and accountability in the electoral process.

Under the current EC, the public feel comfortable that our voices are being heard and our concerns addressed when it comes to electoral reforms. G25 was also impressed during our previous meeting with the EC chairman who told us that his team was working in close consultation with the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) to propose the structural changes for creating a fair and equitable electoral system. This is important for making elections a meaningful process in our democracy.