Malaysia - Concern is growing that Sunday‘s national referendum in the deep South might be marred by a language barrier.
According to local Muslim leaders, little has been done to bridge the language gap and help Malay-speaking residents of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat properly understand the charter‘s content.
Of the 19 million charter copies that were delivered to households nationwide, not a single one is in the local Malay dialect that is widely used in the region.
Yakob Raimanee, a religious leader at Pattani‘s central mosque, said the people most affected are those aged 50 and over.
‘‘Most people in this age group cannot efficiently use Thai. They can understand simple Thai, but they are not good enough to read or thoroughly understand the constitution,‘‘ he said.
Mr Yakob suggested that the government step up efforts in educating the Malay-speaking community about the ‘‘key elements‘‘ of the charter.
He said civil rights and freedoms, and public participation in checks and balances, should be emphasised.
‘‘It is imperative to clarify the differences between the new constitution and the 1997 charter, so that they can make a proper decision and not just blindly cast their vote,‘‘ he said.
With the referendum less than a week away, he said it is better for the state to campaign through the broadcasting media.
Nimu Makaje, a Muslim scholar in Yala, said the language problem is made worse by the use of legal terms.
‘‘Since their Thai is already so poor, using a specific genre only makes it impossible for them to understand the constitution. I haven‘t finished reading the charter yet. Legal terms are really hard to understand,‘‘ he said.
Mr Nimu said the quicker the government tackles the language problem, the better.
‘‘Send people to explain the charter and its benefits, or no one would care about it. These days I listen to the radio and watch the television for long hours just to make sure I don‘t miss out on any important information,‘‘ he said.
Mr Nimu called on the government to intensify the referendum awareness campaign to encourage a high voter turnout.
Hayeeabdulrorsak Alee, chairman of the Narathiwat Islamic Committee, agreed the referendum campaign is weak and suggested the use of public announcements as another promotion tool.
Doromae Laemoh, assistant to the kamnan of Pattani‘s Mae Kaen district, said there were only a couple of signboards promoting the referendum in each district, which was not enough.
Language gap is not the only cause of concern, but also the ballot paper.
Nasae Malee, a villager in Narathiwat‘s Rangae district, said her village is aware of Sunday‘s referendum, but not the charter‘s content. ‘‘It would have been great if there was a Malay version of the charter,‘‘ he said.
‘‘Don‘t be surprised if there are a high number of invalid ballots in the region,‘‘ said Yakob, another official of Pattani‘s central mosque,
He said voters are not familiar with the referendum ballot in which they are asked to mark either ‘‘yes‘‘ or ‘‘no‘‘.
‘‘They are accustomed to election ballots in which they recognise the candidates by their numbers. The referendum ballot has no numbers, only Thai words for yes and no,‘‘ he said.
Muslim leaders have tried to solve the problem by asking voters to memorise that the left box is for a ‘‘no‘‘ vote and the one on the right for a ‘‘yes‘‘ vote, he said. The election officials in the three southernmost provinces are aware of the dull atmosphere and plan to intensify their campaign for a high turnout this week.
Paitoon Jehheng, directing the voting in Narathiwat, said mosque leaders are also being urged to give speeches on the referendum before daily prayers.
‘‘It‘s so unlively. The referendum is unlike the elections. There are no political rivals and people do not know the consequences of rejection or acceptance,‘‘ he said. A 70% turnout is expected in the province.
Ram Artnarong, acting election director for Pattani, said caravans will be dispatched to villages from Aug 15-18 to raise referendum awareness. Pattani expects a 60% turnout.
Boonyasit Suwanrat, chairman of the Yala election committee, however, expects only a 50% turnout.
‘‘We expect a low turnout because it is different from MP and senate elections. He said the continuing separatist violence was unlikely to spare the referendum, adding that Bannang Sata and Yaha districts are being closely watched.
Source: www.bangkokpost.com (15 Agustus 2007)
