Malaysia has not dismissed the idea of electronic voting despite the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) advising against it.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said in Parliament today the Election Commission (EC) is reaching out to local and foreign parties to gauge if e-voting is workable despite being wary of its effectiveness.
According to Takiyuddin, the EC remains unconvinced with e-voting due to security and cost issues.
“However, the EC will continue to engage with the relevant parties in relation to e-voting,” he said, while pointing out Estonia, Brazil, India, Switzerland and the US were among nations that implemented e-voting only to acknowledge improvements were required.
ERC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, in an interview with Twentytwo13 in October 2019, insisted Malaysia was not ready for e-voting.
The ERC was formed in 2018 to review election laws and the voting system in the country.
Abdul Rashid had then said the integrity of the whole system would be questioned.
“People don’t easily trust electronic gadgets. If you have that kind of voting, then you may face trust issues. You have to build trust in the system. If the trust is not built properly, then the election will fail,” he said.
“Power supply is not guaranteed nationwide. Then we could hear accusations like ‘sabotage by EC’.”
He also added e-voting would kill the whole voting experience for Malaysians who enjoyed heading to polling stations and marking their ballot papers.
Here’s the round-up of The News Normal.
NO PLANS TO TEACH MATHS AND SCIENCE IN ENGLISH
Education Minister Dr Radzi Jidin said his ministry has no plans to reintroduce the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI)
Speaking in Parliament, Radzi also said the ministry was in the midst of fine-tuning the teaching of Jawi in vernacular schools.
PPSMI was introduced during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration in 2003 but was scrapped in 2011.
UNEMPLOYED MAN CLAIMS TRIAL TO CAT KILLINGS
Muhammad Najwan Zulkefli, 24, was charged at the Selayang Sessions Court under Section 29 (1) (e) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015 with unreasonably causing the death of three cats at Atlantis Self Service Laundry in Desa Aman Puri Apartment, in Kepong on June 12.
The accused, who was unrepresented, was also ordered by the court to undergo a one-month observation at Hospital Bahagia.
A video on the alleged incident had made its rounds last month.
EATERIES REMINDED TO ADHERE TO SOPs
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob reminded those offering buffet meals to ensure only servers scoop food for customers.
The requirement, Ismail said, was part of the standard operating procedures for restaurants, cafes and canteens. However, Ismail said operators can provide disposable plastic gloves for guests to use if they scoop food on their own.
Ismail also said to date, 6.2 million Malaysians and 254,833 business premises have downloaded the MySejahtera application. He urged more businesses to register and provide their MySejahtera QR code to customers to allow contact tracing.
