The youth in the country depend on online news sources which do not
provide “accurate” information unlike the mainstream media, says former
Election Commission vice-chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar (pic).
The recently retired civil servant said young Malaysians were among the
most critical of the commission’s work and they “are the most effective
at spreading information”.“But they do not have time to watch television and view the prime channels which carry accurate information, based on ethical journalism or newspapers that print actual facts,” he told Umno-backed daily Utusan Malaysia’s weekend edition “Mingguan Malaysia” today.
“They shut their eyes and ears from explanations,” he added.
Wan Ahmad told the paper that the EC had often been misunderstood and he insisted that the body under the auspices of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had been fair and just to all.
He also declared innocence over claims that he was impartial in his job.
“Even though people accuse me of being unfair, playing politics and being impartial, all of those assumptions are not true.”
For years, the EC came under fire for not acting as an independent or non-partisan body, an accusation that the body has repeatedly refuted.
Former EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman recently admitted that the EC was only an appendage of Umno and Barisan Nasional to ensure their perpetual stranglehold on Putrajaya.
Opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat and Bersih 2.0, the non-governmental organisation fighting for free and fair election have continuously heaped criticisms against the way the agency held elections, conducted the delineation exercise and its inability to remain independent.
Wan Ahmad blamed young Malaysians for the EC’s declining reputation.
“The young would go back home and influence their parents, siblings, friends at stalls and coffee shops,” he said.
“The ones who have been influenced by inaccurate information will make a bad judgment and this does not benefit the country.” – December 1, 2013.
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