Yong To Table Motion For EC To Resolve Phantom Voters Issue In 12 Months

Yong To Table Motion For EC To Resolve Phantom Voters Issue In 12 Months
(22 July 2001)

KOTA KINABALU, July 22 (Bernama) -- Re-elected State Assemblyman for Likas Datuk Yong Teck Lee said Sunday that he will table a motion at the coming state assembly sitting to get the Election Commission resolve the phantom voters issue in 12 months.

Yong, who won the Likas by-election with a bigger majority yesterday, said he had raised the matter with Chief Minister Datuk Chong Kah Kiat who had agreed to discuss it with the Barisan Nasional (BN) component leaders.

"An all-party committee on illegal immigration has been set up to resolve the illegal immigrants issue but what we want is to get the commitment that the EC resolves the phantom voters issue in 12 months," he said. The committee was set up in May this year.

"We cannot just say it without setting a specific date or dateline," Yong, who is president of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), told reporters at the SAPP's mobile service centre at Gaya Street here.

The mobile service centre, which opens every Sunday at the popular weekly bazaar at Gaya Street, was set up by the SAPP Complaints Bureau which will attend to complaints from the public.

The tabling of the motion for the setting up of an all-party committee on phantom voters as well as for the EC to resolve the issue in 12 months are among the three-point agenda promised by Yong to be implemented on being re-elected in Likas.

The other is for a Sabahan to be included as one of the members of the EC to enable it to effectively deal with the phantom voters issue in the state.

Asked to comment on the contention by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) that the low voter turnout of 52.95 per cent on polling day yesterday was because the voters were showing their protest against the electoral roll, Yong said it was not the reason for the low turnout.

"We have seen that from each one of the ballot boxes, the votes cast for the PBS have dwindled. Therefore the contention that there was a protest is unfounded," he said.

"The opposition should not make such excuses for their defeat as the results clearly showed that the voters have confidence in the BN," said Yong.

In the by-election, Yong won with a majority of 7,541 votes. He polled 9,758 votes, beating Dr Chong Eng Leong of PBS who only managed to get 2,217 votes.

Two other candidates were Christina Liew of Keadilan and an Independent, Joshua Kong, who polled 1,724 votes and 50 votes respectively.
-- BERNAMA

Datuk Yong Teck Lee
Member of Parliament for P150 Gaya / State Assemblyman for N13 Likas

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