The numbers are about right – 951 voters were deleted from Permatang Pauh and replaced by another 961 since the 12th GE. But the reasons were technical and not too sinister. Still, the whole confusing affair highlights the needs for SPR transparency and voter registration reform.

Background: PKR has complained that about 900 voters were “missing.” SPR is indignant.

PKR complained that (http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/88268): “The names of 900 voters are missing from the electoral roll for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency. The names were in the last electoral role and the voters were eligible to cast their ballots in the 12th general election.” SPR’s reply (http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/88553): “Explaining on the 868 names which went ‘missing’ in the ‘updated’ roll, Kamaruzaman [of SPR] clarified today that there were only 158 names which were removed in the latest roll. The reasons why these names were removed among others include ‘wrong’ voters registration, deaths, those who aged above 100 and deemed fit by the EC to remove their names from the roll on the presumption that they have passed away.” More: “SPR Can’t Explain 949 Missing Voter Names,” Chinese language article by MerdekaReview.com. (Machine translation. Please note that machine translation provides only a “gist” translation; the result will contain funny translation mistakes.)

Our investigation did find that 951 voters were “deleted” after the 12 GE in Permatang Pauh, while another 961 voters were “added” to the by-election roll dated 2008 Jul.
But we also found that these changes were due to three not-too-cynical reasons and minor SPR mistakes:

1. The technicality of modifying police IC numbering scheme,
2. Regular voter registrations, inward and outward movements, and
3. SPR’s dead-voter deletion overdrive.

Although the reasons are not sinister, there are lessons for the SPR: How can SPR avoid such public confusion and distrust in the future?

1. First, let police and military voters switch to a 12-digit civilian IC to simplify verification, update, and avoid duplicate registrations.
2. Second, make voter registration automatic with MyKad status at the NRIC Department. Meanwhile, make NRIC accountable to the parliament, to prevent Sabah-like IC mess,
3. Third, make SPR more transparent with the gazetted and quarterly electoral rolls. SPR has recently stopped the online publication of the quarterly rolls in PDF format.Given adequate data, NGOs and the media can actually help SPR avoid unnecessary confusion.

What’s so complicated about the electoral rolls?

• First, we need to clarify which versions of electoral rolls are being bandied about.

• We believe the confusion arises from comparing these versions:

• • the 2008 Feb 5 gazetted roll used in the 12th GE, with data up to 2007 Dec 31 (=2007Q4),
  • The 2008 Jun 19 gazetted roll, with data up to 2008 Mar 31 (=2008Q1),
  • The ungazetted supplementary roll with data from 2008 Jun 30 (=2008Q2),
  • The 2008 Jul 31 ungazetted roll for Permatang Pauh, based on the 2008 Jun 19 gazetted roll, adjusted for subsequent deletions, but not additions, ie, deletion-type changes between 2008 Apr 1 and 2008 Jul 31.

• PKR members are probably comparing versions (a) with (d), because they are most likely to have the MS Access soft copies for these two. Version (c) is most widely available in hard copy printed from PDF files, and reflects a “flow,” or change, data, not a “point-in-time,” cumulative, data.

• In contrast, the SPR probably thinks in terms of versions (b) vs (d), since (b) is a gazetted version. Version (c) is an intermediate version, that is to be gazetted. If and when (c) is gazetted, the Permatang Pauh section can lead to further confusion, because its data are dated 20080630, and is a “prequel” to the by-election version (d).

• We will focus on versions (a) and (d), because these are the most accessible to the public, and also from where the questions likely arise. We will supplement the information with version (b) which we have built into a “pro forma” version.

If you haven’t been completely confused, read on!

---

So what happened? We will explain our finding in 8 points:
Finding 1. The difference of only 10 voters between the 12th-GE and by-election rolls hides larger changes beneath.
Table A below shows that Permatang Pauh:

• contained 58,449 voters at the time of 12th GE roll gazetted on 2008 Feb 5,
• but now contains 58,459 voters at this by-election roll, dated 2008 Jul 31.
• On the surface, the roll has simply increased by 10 voters.
• But the underlying picture is a bit more complicated.

Table A: Comparing 20080205 and 20080731 Data

Date of publication	Gazetted	Data date	voter count	Comment
20080205	20080205	20071231	58,449	Used in 12th GE
20080619	20080619	20080331	58,761	Pro forma version estimated by Malvu.blogspot.com based on 2008Q1 changes
20080731	Not gazetted	20080731?	58,459	Used in this by-election

Finding 2. 951 voter ICs were deleted after the 12th GE roll, while 961 voter ICs were added to the by-election roll, netting the superficial increase of only 10 voter ICs.
Table B below shows that, between the times of the 12th GE and the by-election:

• 951 voter ICs were deleted. In other words, these voters existed in the 12th GE roll, but are now “missing” from the by-election roll.
• 961 new voter ICs were added. In other words, this many IC numbers were in the newer by-election roll, but had not existed in the 12th GE roll.
• Net result is the addition of only 10 voters (=961-951) on the surface.
• Meanwhile, 57,498 voter IC numbers exist in both the newer and older rolls. In other words, they remain valid voters both during the 12th GE and today’s by-election.
• The number of 949 missing names cited in the MerdekaReview.com article above likely refers to the 951 deleted ICs (not names), less the 2 easily-explained police retirement cases,

• Our question is then: Were the deletion of 951 voters and addition of the other 961 voters reasonable and kosher?

Table B: Cross-Checking IC Numbers Between the 12th GE and By-Election Rolls

	Postal & non- postal		Postal Voters		Non- postal Voters	Comment
IC found in 20080205 but not in 20080731	951	=	491	+	460	These IC numbers were in the 12th GE roll, but now “gone” from by-election roll
IC found in 20080731 but not in 20080205	961	=	489	+	472	These IC numbers were not in the 12th GE roll, but are now in the by-election roll
IC found in both versions	57,498	=	1	+	57,497	These were in both the 12th GE and by-election rolls

Finding 3. Nearly half the changes involved an identical group of police postal voters, who have not actually moved, but have only had their police IC numbers slightly modified. This is enough to confuse the public, even apparently the SPR itself.

• Overall, there were 492 police postal voters in Permatang Pauh as of the 12th GE.
• One of them (G6014602) already had the “most updated” IC numbering format, and hence this IC number was not changed, “deleted” or “added back.”
• Another two (I0013148 and R0071611) were permanently deleted after the 12th GE, probably due to retirement.

• The remaining 489 (=492-1-2) police postal voters had their IC numbers modified slightly, as we will explain later.
• This IC number change causes these 489 postal voters to appear to have gone “missing” en masse.
• The “missing” voters would total 491 if we count the 2 retirement cases mentioned above.
• Meanwhile, the same 489 postal voters’ newly modified IC numbers make them look like 489 newly “added” voters. This likely happens because PKR, and even SPR itself, have no choice but to search the database by relying on the unique IC numbers, known in database parlance as the “primary index”.

• This apparent and illusory “deletion” of 491 and “addition” of 489 postal voters account for about half the 951 “missing” and 961 “replacement” voters in the by-election roll.

Finding 4. The proof is in the detail: Let us look at all 489 pairs of slightly-changed police IC numbers.
From Table C below, we can see that the 489 pairs of old and new police postal IC numbers are nearly identical, having only these 2 feature changes:

1. All police IC # starting with “R0” or “R” in 2008 Feb 5 roll have been changed to “RF” in the by-election roll. For example, R0117812 has been changed to RF117812.
2. All police IC # starting with “G0,” “I0,” or “RT0” have been changed to “G,” “I,” or “RT” eliminating preceeding zeros. For example “RT007013” and “I0013642” have been changed to “RT7013” and “I13642” respectively.

Table C: Permatang Pauh’s 489 Police Postal Voters’ ICs as Formatted in Electoral Rolls Dated 2008 Feb 5 and 2008 Jul 31

20080205	20080731		20080205	20080731		20080205	20080731		20080205	20080731
R0117812	RF117812		I0016525	I16525		R0150393	RF150393		R0115049	RF115049
R0083450	RF83450		R0121314	RF121314		R0156472	RF156472		R0122015	RF122015
R0075343	RF75343		I0015495	I15495		RT017150	RT17150		R0075600	RF75600
R0110379	RF110379		R0106264	RF106264		R0121553	RF121553		R0117609	RF117609
R0066165	RF66165		R0144589	RF144589		R0099644	RF99644		R0082847	RF82847
R0094340	RF94340		R0147646	RF147646		R0116111	RF116111		R0125958	RF125958
RT007013	RT7013		R0116861	RF116861		R0072226	RF72226		R0114448	RF114448
R0084073	RF84073		R0136943	RF136943		R0119542	RF119542		R0129824	RF129824
R0117802	RF117802		R0087700	RF87700		R0147791	RF147791		R0154684	RF154684
R0116501	RF116501		R0070383	RF70383		R0064730	RF64730		I0017421	I17421
R0075162	RF75162		R0106695	RF106695		R0122041	RF122041		R0118150	RF118150
R0104241	RF104241		R0119208	RF119208		R0066504	RF66504		R0096855	RF96855
R0081895	RF81895		R0098386	RF98386		R0152192	RF152192		R0150957	RF150957
R0064863	RF64863		R0092672	RF92672		R0120416	RF120416		R0155317	RF155317
R0133195	RF133195		R0105778	RF105778		R0160854	RF160854		R0106314	RF106314
I0013642	I13642		R0086517	RF86517		R0096185	RF96185		R0090262	RF90262
R0110443	RF110443		R0072837	RF72837		R0109868	RF109868		R0087460	RF87460
R0150829	RF150829		R0146826	RF146826		G0016759	G16759		R0070168	RF70168
R0104462	RF104462		G0010340	G10340		R0016140	RF16140		R0120817	RF120817
R0098522	RF98522		R0118270	RF118270		R0150851	RF150851		R0138717	RF138717
R0157454	RF157454		R0098446	RF98446		R0152253	RF152253		R0123647	RF123647
R0126342	RF126342		R0087746	RF87746		R0146804	RF146804		R0118151	RF118151
R0147641	RF147641		R0088872	RF88872		RT017092	RT17092		R0209015	RF209015
R0148019	RF148019		R0069129	RF69129		I0015669	I15669		R0122707	RF122707
R0111866	RF111866		R0082303	RF82303		R0074986	RF74986		R0127487	RF127487
R0109440	RF109440		R0059576	RF59576		R0102538	RF102538		R0135769	RF135769
RT009714	RT9714		RT009593	RT9593		R0121104	RF121104		R0104206	RF104206
R0092824	RF92824		R0104216	RF104216		I0016952	I16952		R0118437	RF118437
R0090872	RF90872		R0083428	RF83428		R0092461	RF92461		R0100972	RF100972
R0120704	RF120704		R0066678	RF66678		I0010102	I10102		R4068948	RF4068948
R0066493	RF66493		R0096059	RF96059		RT013524	RT13524		I0013105	I13105
R0103016	RF103016		R0007020	RF7020		R0119522	RF119522		R0087568	RF87568
R0115002	RF115002		R0101088	RF101088		G0015784	G15784		R0118571	RF118571
R0069264	RF69264		R0084978	RF84978		R0150373	RF150373		R0094393	RF94393
R0096808	RF96808		R0075855	RF75855		R0075364	RF75364		R0089600	RF89600
R0072849	RF72849		R065263	RF65263		R0117352	RF117352		R0157902	RF157902
R0122428	RF122428		R0118501	RF118501		R0099634	RF99634		R0146815	RF146815
R0075559	RF75559		R0094191	RF94191		R0156050	RF156050		R0127383	RF127383
G0009929	G9929		R0101759	RF101759		I0013498	I13498		R0082005	RF82005
R0099581	RF99581		R0112305	RF112305		R0115735	RF115735		R0084519	RF84519
R0161034	RF161034		R0110411	RF110411		R0059422	RF59422		R0118524	RF118524
R0071196	RF71196		I0015858	I15858		R0085050	RF85050		R0139560	RF139560
R0086272	RF86272		R0117385	RF117385		R0118247	RF118247		R0081950	RF81950
R0058643	RF58643		R0087723	RF87723		R0150756	RF150756		R0071496	RF71496
I0017140	I17140		R0073939	RF73939		I0009048	I9048		R0092831	RF92831
R0111890	RF111890		R0121980	RF121980		R0112759	RF112759		R0094451	RF94451
R0158318	RF158318		R0082276	RF82276		R0124857	RF124857		R0085785	RF85785
R0122429	RF122429		R0117288	RF117288		R0110132	RF110132		R0090295	RF90295
R0101127	RF101127		R0104469	RF104469		R0065091	RF65091		R0141877	RF141877
R0109306	RF109306		R0111437	RF111437		R0074980	RF74980		RT012073	RT12073
R0139177	RF139177		I0016109	I16109		R0159393	RF159393		I0016795	I16795
R0153224	RF153224		R0138304	RF138304		R0074313	RF74313		R0138322	RF138322
R0154666	RF154666		R0152268	RF152268		RT017098	RT17098		R0141991	RF141991
R0067147	RF67147		R0138920	RF138920		R0144493	RF144493		R0069164	RF69164
R0106936	RF106936		R0120262	RF120262		R0111938	RF111938		I0010825	I10825
R0103900	RF103900		R0075173	RF75173		R0145358	RF145358		R0094306	RF94306
R0113253	RF113253		R0108918	RF108918		R0118325	RF118325		I0008287	I8287
R0102111	RF102111		R0089312	RF89312		R0116414	RF116414		R0121418	RF121418
R0137757	RF137757		R0097853	RF97853		R0150400	RF150400		RT007425	RT7425
R0125261	RF125261		R0084200	RF84200		R0106883	RF106883		R0127275	RF127275
R0117266	RF117266		R0090007	RF90007		R0100604	RF100604		R0090619	RF90619
R0110136	RF110136		R0138733	RF138733		R0102610	RF102610		R0119829	RF119829
R0089976	RF89976		RT007021	RT7021		R0069725	RF69725		R0111099	RF111099
I0015980	I15980		R0085327	RF85327		R0092344	RF92344		R0101869	RF101869
R0092005	RF92005		R0072814	RF72814		R0085523	RF85523		I0014237	I14237
R0115609	RF115609		R0073548	RF73548		R0075596	RF75596		R0069567	RF69567
R0129826	RF129826		R0120282	RF120282		G0010593	G10593		R0086808	RF86808
R0095077	RF95077		R0107024	RF107024		R0102663	RF102663		R0102645	RF102645
R0098789	RF98789		I0011269	I11269		R0068305	RF68305		I0013908	I13908
R0075212	RF75212		I0016783	I16783		R0073304	RF73304		R0069521	RF69521
R0066339	RF66339		R0089026	RF89026		R0106103	RF106103		R0148427	RF148427
R0116504	RF116504		R0102937	RF102937		R0094390	RF94390		R0116417	RF116417
R0060135	RF60135		R0123190	RF123190		R0119640	RF119640		R0131568	RF131568
R0106581	RF106581		R0110041	RF110041		I0014965	I14965		G0016185	G16185
R0090416	RF90416		R0103029	RF103029		R0119068	RF119068		R0110449	RF110449
R0066610	RF66610		R0098627	RF98627		R0138208	RF138208		R0070173	RF70173
R0113312	RF113312		R0099137	RF99137		R0138214	RF138214		R0105197	RF105197
R0097230	RF97230		R0069353	RF69353		R0075774	RF75774		R0160886	RF160886
I0017068	I17068		R0114111	RF114111		R0137764	RF137764		R0121142	RF121142
R0127064	RF127064		R0155827	RF155827		R0111484	RF111484		R0136263	RF136263
R0118159	RF118159		R0067825	RF67825		R0102302	RF102302		R0068361	RF68361
R0054978	RF54978		R0104197	RF104197		R0138212	RF138212		R0126897	RF126897
R0092037	RF92037		R0055360	RF55360		R0115649	RF115649		R0109539	RF109539
R0115637	RF115637		R0102590	RF102590		R0105562	RF105562		R0106522	RF106522
R0088651	RF88651		R0092888	RF92888		R0118252	RF118252		R0114994	RF114994
RT015000	RT15000		R0092114	RF92114		R0068148	RF68148		R0097692	RF97692
R0116711	RF116711		R0118351	RF118351		R0105909	RF105909		RT009716	RT9716
R0094465	RF94465		R0054938	RF54938		R0103137	RF103137		RT007026	RT7026
R0069476	RF69476		RT011990	RT11990		R0129943	RF129943		R0093626	RF93626
R0088717	RF88717		RT011958	RT11958		R0137820	RF137820		R0064917	RF64917
R0124440	RF124440		RT011988	RT11988		I0016516	I16516		R0098125	RF98125
R0072179	RF72179		R0073400	RF73400		R0155013	RF155013		R0116034	RF116034
I0013491	I13491		RT007035	RT7035		R0069136	RF69136		R0117340	RF117340
R0091444	RF91444		R0058175	RF58175		R0101891	RF101891		R0132520	RF132520
R0098521	RF98521		R0066078	RF66078		R0107972	RF107972		R0104387	RF104387
R0059415	RF59415		R0102961	RF102961		R0066208	RF66208		R0091382	RF91382
I0016226	I16226		R0122779	RF122779		R0087491	RF87491		R0113831	RF113831
R0090962	RF90962		R0082794	RF82794		R0059684	RF59684		R0085849	RF85849
R0063770	RF63770		R0067988	RF67988		I0014150	I14150		R0122598	RF122598
R0090810	RF90810		I0014091	I14091		R0100837	RF100837		R0116364	RF116364
R0092038	RF92038		R0138088	RF138088		RT012082	RT12082		R0104209	RF104209
R0095087	RF95087		R0118936	RF118936		R0098885	RF98885		R0117549	RF117549
R0137143	RF137143		I0015279	I15279		R0068460	RF68460		R0139473	RF139473
R0088718	RF88718		G0010459	G10459		R0105514	RF105514		R0125742	RF125742
I0012513	I12513		R0116946	RF116946		R0102949	RF102949		R0126530	RF126530
G0009068	G9068		R0139514	RF139514		R0157897	RF157897		R0094339	RF94339
R0092019	RF92019		R0108885	RF108885		RT007037	RT7037		R0113963	RF113963
R0108073	RF108073		I0016617	I16617		R0090997	RF90997		R0072823	RF72823
R0085982	RF85982		RT016618	RT16618		R0091885	RF91885		R0133525	RF133525
R0089495	RF89495		G0010714	G10714		R0088438	RF88438		R0100831	RF100831
R0139568	RF139568		R0118710	RF118710		R0064739	RF64739		R0110553	RF110553
RT015968	RT15968		R0101581	RF101581		R0092126	RF92126		I0013880	I13880
R0094405	RF94405		R0146589	RF146589		R0085474	RF85474		R0124820	RF124820
R0100609	RF100609		R0094259	RF94259		R0071032	RF71032		R0139594	RF139594
R0150986	RF150986		R0085635	RF85635		R0069950	RF69950		R0116477	RF116477
R0090113	RF90113		RT016106	RT16106		R0075273	RF75273		R0082136	RF82136
R0105635	RF105635		R0152652	RF152652		R0118573	RF118573		R0070484	RF70484
R0127580	RF127580		R0110021	RF110021		R0138188	RF138188		R0063476	RF63476
R0091637	RF91637		R0111843	RF111843		R0067341	RF67341		R0072256	RF72256
R0119628	RF119628		R0139485	RF139485		R0105516	RF105516		R0136959	RF136959
R0089897	RF89897		R0145798	RF145798		R0131432	RF131432
R0072131	RF72131		I0016650	I16650		R0130748	RF130748
R0106937	RF106937		I0012250	I12250		R0107051	RF107051

Note: If you can’t see the whole table width, reduce your browser text size (Menu>View>Text Size). You can also click, drag, highlight the table, copy, and paste special, value, into your Excel spreadsheet for easier viewing.

Finding 5: SPR did a poor and confusing job in modifying these police IC numbers, and in explaining the changes.
While we now understand that 489 police postal voters really did not move in or out of Permatang Pauh, there remain other questions and expected problems:

• SPR should have expected this IC number confusion, should have been ready to explain the changes, thereby preempting a loss to its own credibility.
• This postal IC number modification occurred in a rush, only after the 2008 Jun 19 gazetted roll, in which we can find the old-formatted IC numbers. Confirming this timing is that we cannot find these “deletion” or “addition” in the 2008Q1 supplementary roll.
• The changes do not look permanent. Any further changes will again invite confusion. Some of the “new format” police IC numbers are too short or too long to be a standardized, permanent, format:
  • Most of the IC#s are preceded by one or two alphabets, followed by 6 digits,
  • But there are IC#s followed by only 4-5 digits, for example, RT9714, G9929, and I13642.
  • There is an IC# followed by 7 digits, ie, RF4068948. With the “RF” prefix, this IC# has 9 characters in all, and is a non-standard occurrence.
  • With the above oddities, we would expect SPR at anytime to add back the zeros to the shorter IC#s make them a standard length, reigniting confusion.
• A separate matter is that about 404 of the “Bukit Mertajam” police HQ/station officers have probably been gerrymandered into the “Permatang Pauh” seat. We will deal with the geographical question another time.

Why did SPR risk confusion to modify the police IC numbers? We believe SPR “shortened” the police IC numbers to preempt any embarrassing discovery of duplicate registrations of postal voters, as reported earlier:

• MalaysiaKini.com reported just before the 12th GE that computer programmer Ong Guan Sin had found 278 pairs of such double-registered voters that differ by a leading zero.
• With a complete database, we later found 771 such doppelgängers that differ by a leading zero, or only different by the initial “R0” and “RF.”

Obviously, the SPR didn’t anticipate that this IC-shortening move itself would cause new internal and external confusions.
The solution to this and future problems? Switch to using 12-digit civilian ICs for all postal (police and military) voters. Aren’t they exercising their civilian duties when voting? Aren’t they born civilian? Haven’t they received the MyKad and 12-digit IC numbers by the age of 12 – before they enter the police and army? Aren’t they going to retire as civilians?
Moreover, we feel the SPR also does not fully realize that many of the duplicated postal registration also involve input mistakes and variations in names (Nama) and year of birth (Tahunlahir), albeit not in P044. See Tables B and C in “771 doppelgängers.” It is these second and third layers of input mistakes at SPR’s voter registration procedure that caused the errors to be so difficult to trace.
The solution to this and future problem? Make voter registration automatic, as they attain their MyKad and 12-digit ICs.
Finding 6: The deletion of 460 non-postal voters after the 12th GE is more dicey. We can only trace 218 of the 460 deletions – given SPR’s lack of transparency. The remaining 242 could have contained the 5 embarrassing cases of “alive-and-well but deleted-as-dead” voters documented by the media and NGO.
Table D tells us that:

• 460 of the 951 voter ICs deleted were non-postal voters
• Our investigation of the 2008Q1 supplemental roll revealed that 84 voters were deleted because they moved out of P044, and 89 deceased voters were deleted. SPR was going through an aggressive campaign to clean up cumulated dead voters across the country.
• In total, SPR deleted 173 (=84+89) voters from Permatang Pauh in 2008Q1. We have recorded this finding in our earlier blog “Pro Forma Electoral Roll for P044 for 2008Q1.”

• That means SPR deleted the remaining 287 (=460-173) during 2008Q2 (April, May, June), and also in July.
• We cannot trace what happened then because SPR stopped publishing supplemental roll for 2008Q2, and only displayed the hard copies in post offices.

• Further, we can tell by manually checking SPR’s P044 by-election voter verification Web page, that SPR deleted all voters age 100 or more across the board, which account for 25 voter deletion after the 2008 Jun 19 gazetted roll. We have documented this apparent “stroke-of-a-pen deletion of centenarians here.”
• Further, SPR deleted a total of 20 voters aged 86 to 89 years old.

• In all, we can trace 218 (=84+89+25+20) of the 460 deletions of non-postal voters so far.
• That leaves 242 deletions of non-postal voters to be explained.

Table D: Accounting for deletion of 951 voters after the 12th GE

Voter changes	Number of Voters	Number of Voters
Number of voter ICs deleted after 12th GE		951
Number of postal voter IC deleted/modified		491
Number of non-postal voter IC deleted		460
2008 Jun 19 gazetted list (data as of 2008 Mar 31, we calculate from our pro forma version)
Deletion of voters for moving out reported in 2008Q1	84
Deletion of voters due to death reported in 2008Q1	89
Subtotal – Deletion reported in 2008Q1		173
Number of deletions to explain for 2008Q2 and 2008 July		287
SPR deletion of all voters 100 or older in April, May, June, July	25
SPR deletion of voters 86 to 99 years old in April, May, June, July	20
Subtotal – Deletion of 86+ year voters in 2008Q2 and up to July 31		45
Number of non-postal deletion we can trace	218
Number of deletions to explain		242

From recent pattern of a special SPR campaign to delete dead voters, we figure it is reasonable to expect about 200 deletions of moved-out and dead voters per quarter, for April, May, and June, a period that should overlap with the above 86+ voter deletion (25+20).

• Any registration changes for July 2008 (after 2008Q2), however, have not even been publicly displayed – not to mention gazetted. It would be imprudent for SPR to delete from July changes, although it could account for perhaps 100 or more missing voters.

• SPR’s lack of transparency and unwillingness to make 2008Q2 supplementary roll easily available means we cannot trace the last 242 deletions. We can only make partial, manual, checking and guesses.
• These 242 untraced deletions could easily contain mistakes created in a rush. If so, SPR would have embarrassed itself by trying to avoid embarrassing itself.

• MalaysiaKini.com and MerdekaReview.com have reported a total of 5 cases of voters, who are alive and well, who were told by SPR staff on polling day that they had been considered dead and deleted from the rolls.
• We can confirm one case (Ang Kean Tatt, born 1983) where the voter did exist in the 2008 Feb 5 roll, is alive and well, but is not found in the 2008 Jul 31 roll, and was told he was dead in the voters roll.
• We suspect other cases may involve long-dormant voters who have suddenly found themselves gerrymandered away from Permatang Pauh even before the 12th GE.
• See various reports:
  • Four names missing from electoral list
  • 选民册上宣报死亡 真正幽灵选民显现？ Machine translation (will contain funny machine translation mistakes).

Finding 7: The “addition” of 961 voters in the by-election roll was also inflated by 489 new-formatted police postal voter IC numbers
As we explained above in Finding 2, 489 police voters remained in Permatang Pauh so far this yea. But their newly-formatted IC numbers have made these 489 look like “new additions” to the roll.
Finding 8: The remaining 472 (=961-489) new non-postal voters can be traced to normal new voters and moved-in voters in 2008Q1, gazetted in 2008 Jun 19.

• SPR press release indicated that SPR did not add new voters after the 2008 Jun 19 gazetted (2008Q1 data) rolls, and that SPR only deleted voters found to have moved out or to have died.
• The 2008Q1 supplementary roll revealed that 485 new voters were added to Permatang Pauh in 2008Q1, gazetted on 2008 Jun 19:
  • 373 voters were added due to new registration, and
  • 112 voters were added because they moved into Permatang Pauh.
• Earlier we calculated that 472 non-postal voters were added, which is fewer than 485 reported in 2008Q1.
• This means we can account for almost all the addition to the by-election roll.
• As a result, we had not been too worried about “phantom voters” being imported into the electoral roll. (Although bused-in phantoms using other valid voters’ ICs is another matter to worry about.)
• Still, the difference of 13, between 485 non-postal voters added in 2008Q1 and 472 additional non-postal voters found on the by-election roll, is a small mystery. Some 13 voters were somehow deleted or not included somewhere.

With the above 8 points of finding, and the confusion created by SPR changes, we repeat these three recommendations for improving SPR and the electoral rolls:

1. First, let police and military voters switch to a 12-digit civilian IC to simplify verification, update, and avoid duplicate registrations.
2. Second, make voter registration automatic with MyKad status at the NRIC Department. Meanwhile, make NRIC accountable to the parliament, to prevent Sabah-like IC mess,
3. Third, make SPR more transparent with the gazetted and quarterly electoral rolls. SPR has recently stopped the online publication of the quarterly rolls in PDF format.Given adequate data, NGOs and the media can actually help SPR avoid unnecessary confusion.