This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 12, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Election watchdog coalition Bersih 2.0 has recorded 48 offences to date relating to the 14th general election (GE14).

The violations involve 11 issues covering the offer of treats and gifts, undue government handouts and inducements, the use of government machinery for electioneering, public institutions’ biased behaviours, irregularities in the electoral roll and the presence of phantom voters, exploitation of racial issues for political advantage, and political violence, intimidation and harrassment.

Of the 48 offences, two were allegedly carried out by Pakatan Harapan party leaders, including undue government handouts and inducements, and the use of government machinery, the coalition said.

In a joint statement with with Suara Rakyat Malaysia and Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat, Bersih 2.0 said it had launched the Pemantau operations centre to monitor cheating cases and offences taking place during GE14.

“Pemantau is a peoples’ initiative focusing on the 11 issues. It will track the behaviours of the Election Commission, political parties and candidates throughout the general election. Any wrongdoing or cheating would be reported and legal action would be taken if necessary,” the statement said.

The group said Pemantau consists of 100 coordinators that were set to start work nationwide yesterday, supported by 500 volunteers.