PM Najib announces special committee to oversee EC

The government will set up a special committee comprising members of Parliament from Barisan Nasional and the opposition to oversee the Election Commission in order to allay concerns over the impartiality of the country's election management body

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who announced this during his speech Saturday at the investiture ceremony in conjunction with the Yang Dipertuan's birthday celebration at Istana Negara, said the government would extend its full co-operation to the commission in order to further improve the credibility of elections in the country.

“With this move, it is hoped that the impartiality of the Election Commission is no longer questioned and that the confidence of the people towards the Commission can be strengthened,” Najib was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Najib urged all quarters not to damage the trustworthiness of the commission by making all sorts of wild allegations that are driven merely by self-interest.

He said the commission was not a government agency or department but was a special body set up based in accordance with provisions under the Federal Constitution.