Hello everyone, we are the BERSIH team. This week, we followed the organization to Penang to monitor the by-election for the state legislative assembly.

The night before the by-election, we attended a rally held by the BN-PH coalition. The atmosphere was electric, with the crowd enthusiastically cheering for their supported party. The next day, we went to the polling station to monitor the voting. On the way from the parking lot to the polling station, we saw excited voters campaigning for their supported party within 100 meters of the polling station. We found this scene intriguing, and BERSIH is working hard to advocate for legislation to ban such activities to reduce election unfairness. Another thing that caught our attention was a sign outside the polling station stating that voters would have a semi-permanent ink applied to their index finger after voting to indicate that they had already voted. BERSIH is also committed to promoting the abandonment of this method in favor of using a real-name registration system to ensure the fairness of one person, one vote.

During this by-election, we witnessed various phenomena in Malaysia's election process firsthand. From the lively rally to the enthusiastic scenes outside the polling station, we felt the passion and engagement of the voters. At the same time, we also observed some issues in the election process, such as close-range campaigning and the ink marking on voters' fingers after voting. These issues highlight areas where the election system still needs improvement. The BERSIH organization is dedicated to pushing for relevant legislation to ban close-range campaigning and advocating for the use of a real-name registration system to replace traditional voting marking methods to enhance the fairness and transparency of elections. Through this monitoring experience, we are more convinced that only by continuously improving the election system can true democratic elections be achieved.

#GSIP #新南向學海築夢計畫