The Star, NOv. 16, 1999 at 11 - PENANG: Fifteen housewives have been working round-the clock to monitor the news or both the electronic and print media since Parliament was dissolved on Thursday.

 They are part of a voluntary team set up by the Malaysian Citizens Election Watch (Pemantau) formed to monitor the fairness of the electoral process.

 Pemantau, co-ordinated by a newly formed body called United For Democracy and Humanity or Bersatu Untuk Demokrasi dan Insaniah (Budi), had been endorsed by 42 non-governmental groups.

 Budi president Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman said Pemantau would compile the information and submit a report to the Election Commission.

 "We are looking out for slanted news and other unfair practices," she said at a public talk on Election Monitoring and the Electoral Process jointly organised by Aliran and Pemantau on Sunday.

 "We just want to raise awareness of the rights of voters and keep an eye on the electoral process to ensure it is carried out free and fairly," she added.

 Kamar Ainiah said the 680,000 new voters who had registered before May but could not exercise their rights this year could apply for a writ to compel the Election Commission to allow them to vote.

 Budi project manager Kamarul Osman said the organisation had collected 170,000 signatures since August urging the Election Commission to re-register the voters because of alleged irregularities in the electoral roll.