SEREMBAN: Malaysia's general election is conducted in a fair and transparent manner, and there is no concern for any group to be observers, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

It's the same in the case of Transparency International Malaysia. He said it was up to TI-M's discretion to accept or decline the offer to become an observer in the coming elections.

“Since the running of the polls in Malaysia is already fair and transparent, some organisations may feel there is no need for them to act as observers,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

“It is entirely up to them (TI-M) if it doesn't want to act as an observer. This is their right,” he said after a dialogue with members of village security and development committees, new villages, Rukun Tetangga clubs and grassroots leaders here yesterday.

TI-M is one of five observers invited by the EC. The others are Merdeka Centre, the Centre for Public Policy Studies under the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli), the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) and the Malaysian Youth Council.

It was reported that TI-M had declined due to its reservations over some of the terms for observers.

The group, however, said that TI-M was willing to engage with the EC to continue to reform laws related to elections.

TI-M's move was strongly criticised by Ideas chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan, especially after the groups had negotiated for months with the EC to ensure that the observer rules imposed were in compliance with international standards.

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