2008-05-13

NoRumah? No Rumah? More than 1/3 voters homeless?

One out of three voters in Malaysia are registered without a house number. Six states have more than 50% voters who are without any house number.

In the Malaysian electoral roll gazetted on 2008 Feb 5 and used in the Mar 8 GE:

  • Sabah leads the pack, with 92% of voters in the state registered but without a house number ("NoRumah" in database). Sabah has several parliamentary seats with nearly 100% voters registered without a house number. (See Table C.)
  • Kelantan is the runner-up, with 73% of voters without a house number. Kelantan has many parliamentary seats with 80% to nearly 90% voters who are registered without a house number.
  • Expansive Sarawak in East Malaysia and small Perlis in West Malaysia have one thing in common: They all have over 60% of voters registered without a house number.
  • Kedah and Labuan both have over 50% of voters without a house number.
  • Only KL, Putrajaya, and Pulau Pinang have less than 10% of their voters without a house number.
  • Overall in Malaysia, nearly 35% of registered voters, excluding postal voters, are without house number information. If we had counted postal voters, the percentages will be higher by 1%-5% per parliamentary seat.
Is this the kind of efficiency we can expect from the National Registration Department and the SPR? Another angle is this: Is there economic "development" when entire Sabah parliamentary constituencies live by big village addresses? For a temporary relief from this painful realization, please enjoy this MIDI file Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.

We do not count postal voters as blank-house-number voters: In Table A and Table C, we have excluded postal voters from the count of "voters without house numbers." Why? Postal voters have locality codes that end in 400s to 800s. Even though they usually have registered address in police quarters and army camps without a specific house number (NoRumah), we consider their exact address at an army camp or police quarters already known. Hence, they should not be counted as those with a "blank" house numbers. Had we included postal voters together with "non-postal voters without house numbers," the percentages in Table A and Table C would be higher by 1-5% per constituency.

Table A: Numbers and Percentages of Non-Postal Voters Without a House Number, Broken Down by State
NegeriNon-Postal Voters
with Blank or
No NoRumah
Total VotersNon-Postal Voters
with Blank or No
NoRumah /
All Voters

(Person)(Person)(%)
Sabah 743,157 807,862 92.0
Kelantan 548,084 751,682 72.9
Sarawak 571,086 912,454 62.6
Perlis 72,244 120,081 60.2
W.P Labuan 11,517 20,783 55.4
Kedah 438,178 873,674 50.2
Terengganu 183,641 521,597 35.2
Melaka 105,530 371,594 28.4
Pahang 149,232 603,242 24.7
Negeri Sembilan 114,020 462,015 24.7
Perak 277,413 1,196,160 23.2
Johor 301,148 1,312,120 23.0
Selangor 245,242 1,565,493 15.7
W.P Kuala Lumpur 22,979 687,451 3.3
W.P Putrajaya 158 6,608 2.4
Pulau Pinang 12,032 709,323 1.7
Malaysia Total 3,795,661 10,922,139 34.8
Source: SPR and MALVU analysis.

SPR's many variations for "blank" house number:
  • SPR is not consistent when it marks voters who have no house number.
  • In most instances, the data field for a voter without a house number is left blank.
  • But there are many other nonsensical variations.
  • In our search, we have found and counted the following as "no house numbers": "" (nothing), " " (single space), - (one hyphen), * (asterisk), ` (back quote), ' (single quote), 0 (zero), "tiada," "null," (null alone) and "'null'" (null in single quotes).
  • With the above criteria, we found 3,795,661 non-postal voters "without" house number.

  • SPR is even more "creative" than the above.
  • Table B shows more types of data SPR has entered into the "NoRumah" data field for voters who are without house numbers (including both the postal and non-postal voters).

  • Table B: SPR Has Entered Many Non-Sensical Data to Signify Voters Without House Number (NoRumah)
    Types of data that mean
    no or blank NoRumah
    Cases found
    (incl. postal voters)
    Comment
    "" nothing or " " single space3,947,566
    -41,5761 hyphen
    tiada10,348
    NULL8,625
    'NULL'119NULL in single quotes
    0677Single zero
    00116Double zero
    *225
    --222 hyphens
    ---43 hyphens
    ----44 hyphens
    -----65 hyphens
    ------46 hyphens
    -------127 hyphens
    --------88 hyphens
    ---------79 hyphens
    ----------210 hyphens
    -----------011 hyphens
    `35Back quote
    .539Period
    **32 asterisks
    ***43 asterisks
    ****04 asterisks
    _4Underscore
    =2
    !2
    &2
    "1
    +1
    Total (Including postal voters)
    4,009,914
You can only verify the above strange house numbers (NoRumah) using SPR's PDF-formatted electoral roll or the MS Access formatted soft copy. The SPR voter verification Web page will not show the voter's house number (which is a good policy to protect voter privacy).

About Table C:
Table C provides the detailed, parliamentary seat by seat, breakdown of voters (non-postal) who have no house numbers. Note that:
  • Sabah, Kelantan, and Sarawak have many parliamentary constituencies with over 90% voters without house numbers
  • There are wide variation within some states, such as Selangor and Johor, which have very high as well as very low percentages of voters without house number.
  • Often, urbanized areas, such as Kelantan's Kota Baru, are the only constituencies with low percentages within that state.
Table C: Non-Postal Voters Without House Numbers Broken Down By Parliamentary Constituencies
NegeriCodeNamaParlimenNon-Postal
Voters
without
NoRumah
Total
Voters
Non-Postal
Voters
without
NoRumah /
all voters



(Person)(Person)(%)
Perlis001Padang Besar 22,546 36,613 61.6
Perlis002Kangar 21,171 43,591 48.6
Perlis003Arau 28,527 39,877 71.5
Perlis Total

72,244 120,081 60.2
Kedah004Langkawi 20,992 29,567 71.0
Kedah005Jerlun 39,399 45,513 86.6
Kedah006Kubang Pasu 29,379 53,323 55.1
Kedah007Padang Terap 27,727 35,403 78.3
Kedah008Pokok Sena 33,314 69,631 47.8
Kedah009Alor Star 13,809 58,957 23.4
Kedah010Kuala Kedah 39,696 83,132 47.8
Kedah011Pendang 51,732 61,346 84.3
Kedah012Jerai 35,093 65,739 53.4
Kedah013Sik 31,567 40,339 78.3
Kedah014Merbok 13,992 64,443 21.7
Kedah015Sungai Petani 11,597 76,284 15.2
Kedah016Baling 58,602 78,784 74.4
Kedah017Padang Serai 11,468 59,218 19.4
Kedah018Kulim-Bandar Baharu 19,811 51,995 38.1
Kedah Total

438,178 873,674 50.2
Kelantan019Tumpat 59,659 80,072 74.5
Kelantan020Pengkalan Chepa 33,536 52,350 64.1
Kelantan021Kota Bharu 18,601 68,261 27.2
Kelantan022Pasir Mas 46,453 59,640 77.9
Kelantan023Rantau Panjang 38,780 45,384 85.4
Kelantan024Kubang Kerian 39,311 53,496 73.5
Kelantan025Bachok 58,236 64,808 89.9
Kelantan026Ketereh 40,140 52,240 76.8
Kelantan027Tanah Merah 31,569 44,347 71.2
Kelantan028Pasir Puteh 55,388 64,393 86.0
Kelantan029Machang 41,488 49,157 84.4
Kelantan030Jeli 27,920 36,298 76.9
Kelantan031Kuala Krai 39,078 52,250 74.8
Kelantan032Gua Musang 17,925 28,986 61.8
Kelantan Total

548,084 751,682 72.9
Terengganu033Besut 27,154 58,353 46.5
Terengganu034Setiu 33,505 54,520 61.5
Terengganu035Kuala Nerus 18,748 61,214 30.6
Terengganu036Kuala Terengganu 8,546 80,325 10.6
Terengganu037Marang 40,291 74,813 53.9
Terengganu038Hulu Terengganu 21,722 52,515 41.4
Terengganu039Dungun 13,309 64,851 20.5
Terengganu040Kemaman 20,366 75,006 27.2
Terengganu Total

183,641 521,597 35.2
Pulau Pinang041Kepala Batas 3,084 43,019 7.2
Pulau Pinang042Tasek Gelugor 2,039 44,466 4.6
Pulau Pinang043Bagan 357 59,385 0.6
Pulau Pinang044Permatang Pauh 1,054 58,449 1.8
Pulau Pinang045Bukit Mertajam 602 64,080 0.9
Pulau Pinang046Batu Kawan 822 47,378 1.7
Pulau Pinang047Nibong Tebal 1,927 47,540 4.1
Pulau Pinang048Bukit Bendera 758 64,545 1.2
Pulau Pinang049Tanjong 262 53,188 0.5
Pulau Pinang050Jelutong 240 61,181 0.4
Pulau Pinang051Bukit Gelugor 215 65,614 0.3
Pulau Pinang052Bayan Baru 296 60,713 0.5
Pulau Pinang053Balik Pulau 376 39,765 0.9
Pulau Pinang Total

12,032 709,323 1.7
Perak054Gerik 7,463 26,229 28.5
Perak055Lenggong 10,991 23,223 47.3
Perak056Larut 24,993 39,697 63.0
Perak057Parit Buntar 12,004 45,219 26.5
Perak058Bagan Serai 18,047 47,111 38.3
Perak059Bukit Gantang 14,835 55,471 26.7
Perak060Taiping 2,439 65,889 3.7
Perak061Padang Rengas 13,468 24,397 55.2
Perak062Sungai Siput 10,335 47,424 21.8
Perak063Tambun 5,730 68,966 8.3
Perak064Ipoh Timor 1,403 76,647 1.8
Perak065Ipoh Barat 1,489 69,773 2.1
Perak066Batu Gajah 3,035 77,313 3.9
Perak067Kuala Kangsar 11,590 28,325 40.9
Perak068Beruas 12,737 43,273 29.4
Perak069Parit 19,656 28,859 68.1
Perak070Kampar 9,449 59,784 15.8
Perak071Gopeng 7,866 74,344 10.6
Perak072Tapah 11,533 38,236 30.2
Perak073Pasir Salak 25,286 42,712 59.2
Perak074Lumut 10,732 72,763 14.7
Perak075Bagan Datok 21,627 34,670 62.4
Perak076Telok Intan 10,658 52,354 20.4
Perak077Tanjong Malim 10,047 53,481 18.8
Perak Total

277,413 1,196,160 23.2
Pahang078Cameron Highlands 9,105 23,461 38.8
Pahang079Lipis 14,362 28,425 50.5
Pahang080Raub 13,330 46,454 28.7
Pahang081Jerantut 17,221 48,812 35.3
Pahang082Indera Mahkota 6,123 51,235 12.0
Pahang083Kuantan 3,915 47,745 8.2
Pahang084Paya Besar 5,075 39,882 12.7
Pahang085Pekan 16,781 58,217 28.8
Pahang086Maran 11,483 32,517 35.3
Pahang087Kuala Krau 8,656 34,139 25.4
Pahang088Temerloh 16,586 54,010 30.7
Pahang089Bentong 7,379 53,651 13.8
Pahang090Bera 7,551 42,993 17.6
Pahang091Rompin 11,665 41,701 28.0
Pahang Total

149,232 603,242 24.7
Selangor092Sabak Bernam 20,404 31,381 65.0
Selangor093Sungai Besar 17,677 34,073 51.9
Selangor094Hulu Selangor 10,313 63,593 16.2
Selangor095Tanjong Karang 23,184 36,391 63.7
Selangor096Kuala Selangor 21,642 47,203 45.8
Selangor097Selayang 5,474 79,557 6.9
Selangor098Gombak 6,628 99,153 6.7
Selangor099Ampang 1,852 69,132 2.7
Selangor100Pandan 1,757 64,497 2.7
Selangor101Hulu Langat 16,247 90,319 18.0
Selangor102Serdang 4,872 94,877 5.1
Selangor103Puchong 4,577 75,625 6.1
Selangor104Kelana Jaya 4,211 79,648 5.3
Selangor105Petaling Jaya Selatan 3,918 73,192 5.4
Selangor106Petaling Jaya Utara 1,403 76,618 1.8
Selangor107Subang 6,775 84,414 8.0
Selangor108Shah Alam 5,111 75,334 6.8
Selangor109Kapar 18,673 112,224 16.6
Selangor110Klang 6,602 77,816 8.5
Selangor111Kota Raja 7,948 71,887 11.1
Selangor112Kuala Langat 25,470 66,515 38.3
Selangor113Sepang 30,504 62,044 49.2
Selangor Total

245,242 1,565,493 15.7
W.P Kuala Lumpur114Kepong 1,009 60,775 1.7
W.P Kuala Lumpur115Batu 2,245 70,544 3.2
W.P Kuala Lumpur116Wangsa Maju 2,331 54,509 4.3
W.P Kuala Lumpur117Segambut 2,917 59,690 4.9
W.P Kuala Lumpur118Setiawangsa 1,608 57,161 2.8
W.P Kuala Lumpur119Titiwangsa 1,563 49,892 3.1
W.P Kuala Lumpur120Bukit Bintang 1,213 59,986 2.0
W.P Kuala Lumpur121Lembah Pantai 4,138 56,650 7.3
W.P Kuala Lumpur122Seputeh 1,258 76,891 1.6
W.P Kuala Lumpur123Cheras 1,202 68,725 1.7
W.P Kuala Lumpur124Bandar Tun Razak 3,495 72,628 4.8
W.P Kuala Lumpur Total

22,979 687,451 3.3
W.P Putrajaya125Putrajaya 158 6,608 2.4
W.P Putrajaya Total

158 6,608 2.4
Negeri Sembilan126Jelebu 10,191 38,682 26.3
Negeri Sembilan127Jempol 8,655 53,478 16.2
Negeri Sembilan128Seremban 12,141 84,675 14.3
Negeri Sembilan129Kuala Pilah 17,631 42,328 41.7
Negeri Sembilan130Rasah 8,571 72,115 11.9
Negeri Sembilan131Rembau 26,149 62,896 41.6
Negeri Sembilan132Telok Kemang 22,310 60,186 37.1
Negeri Sembilan133Tampin 8,372 47,655 17.6
Negeri Sembilan Total

114,020 462,015 24.7
Melaka134Masjid Tanah 20,500 40,606 50.5
Melaka135Alor Gajah 20,165 54,097 37.3
Melaka136Tangga Batu 15,774 60,188 26.2
Melaka137Bukit Katil 13,502 75,777 17.8
Melaka138Kota Melaka 10,029 84,805 11.8
Melaka139Jasin 25,560 56,121 45.5
Melaka Total

105,530 371,594 28.4
Johor140Segamat 9,468 40,708 23.3
Johor141Sekijang 5,249 35,138 14.9
Johor142Labis 6,272 33,468 18.7
Johor143Pagoh 17,115 40,042 42.7
Johor144Ledang 24,350 58,501 41.6
Johor145Bakri 11,771 56,372 20.9
Johor146Muar 15,783 41,019 38.5
Johor147Parit Sulong 28,042 50,233 55.8
Johor148Ayer Hitam 16,068 34,805 46.2
Johor149Sri Gading 19,698 36,845 53.5
Johor150Batu Pahat 30,199 70,069 43.1
Johor151Simpang Renggam 10,964 34,859 31.5
Johor152Kluang 5,193 71,233 7.3
Johor153Sembrong 7,305 33,181 22.0
Johor154Mersing 7,718 36,445 21.2
Johor155Tenggara 4,756 32,297 14.7
Johor156Kota Tinggi 5,833 34,190 17.1
Johor157Pengerang 4,301 33,002 13.0
Johor158Tebrau 7,876 62,505 12.6
Johor159Pasir Gudang 4,203 72,862 5.8
Johor160Johor Bahru 2,264 89,725 2.5
Johor161Pulai 3,462 79,622 4.3
Johor162Gelang Patah 6,729 78,676 8.6
Johor163Kulai 5,301 67,358 7.9
Johor164Pontian 22,984 43,264 53.1
Johor165Tanjong Piai 18,244 45,701 39.9
Johor Total

301,148 1,312,120 23.0
W.P Labuan166Labuan 11,517 20,783 55.4
W.P Labuan Total

11,517 20,783 55.4
Sabah167Kudat 38,728 39,643 97.7
Sabah168Kota Marudu 31,772 31,938 99.5
Sabah169Kota Belud 42,784 43,071 99.3
Sabah170Tuaran 40,454 40,761 99.2
Sabah171Sepanggar 35,063 39,251 89.3
Sabah172Kota Kinabalu 29,383 43,714 67.2
Sabah173Putatan 26,212 34,935 75.0
Sabah174Penampang 30,039 35,821 83.9
Sabah175Papar 31,494 32,279 97.6
Sabah176Kimanis 22,048 22,239 99.1
Sabah177Beaufort 26,464 26,788 98.8
Sabah178Sipitang 23,877 24,145 98.9
Sabah179Ranau 30,475 30,810 98.9
Sabah180Keningau 34,989 35,578 98.3
Sabah181Tenom 20,693 20,874 99.1
Sabah182Pensiangan 19,627 19,712 99.6
Sabah183Beluran 19,050 19,181 99.3
Sabah184Libaran 28,759 31,435 91.5
Sabah185Batu Sapi 22,369 26,004 86.0
Sabah186Sandakan 27,083 32,847 82.5
Sabah187Kinabatangan 19,406 19,554 99.2
Sabah188Silam 40,784 43,488 93.8
Sabah189Semporna 34,433 35,216 97.8
Sabah190Tawau 35,939 42,560 84.4
Sabah191Kalabakan 31,232 36,018 86.7
Sabah Total

743,157 807,862 92.0
Sarawak192Mas Gading 18,918 21,968 86.1
Sarawak193Santubong 12,801 30,836 41.5
Sarawak194Petra Jaya 9,413 40,533 23.2
Sarawak195Bandar Kuching 9,090 53,216 17.1
Sarawak196Stampin 12,892 67,257 19.2
Sarawak197Kota Samarahan 14,174 28,517 49.7
Sarawak198Mambong 22,029 36,147 60.9
Sarawak199Serian 24,561 27,901 88.0
Sarawak200Batang Sadong 14,892 16,794 88.7
Sarawak201Batang Lupar 19,655 22,417 87.7
Sarawak202Sri Aman 21,668 25,724 84.2
Sarawak203Lubok Antu 16,388 17,190 95.3
Sarawak204Betong 18,835 22,088 85.3
Sarawak205Saratok 22,610 23,982 94.3
Sarawak206Tanjong Manis 15,245 17,052 89.4
Sarawak207Igan 14,768 15,735 93.9
Sarawak208Sarikei 25,271 31,675 79.8
Sarawak209Julau 20,030 20,306 98.6
Sarawak210Kanowit 16,715 17,613 94.9
Sarawak211Lanang 16,559 49,530 33.4
Sarawak212Sibu 20,478 53,679 38.1
Sarawak213Mukah 19,654 22,851 86.0
Sarawak214Selangau 19,386 20,057 96.7
Sarawak215Kapit 21,314 22,723 93.8
Sarawak216Hulu Rajang 17,155 17,696 96.9
Sarawak217Bintulu 32,455 50,404 64.4
Sarawak218Sibuti 16,489 22,143 74.5
Sarawak219Miri 20,461 55,963 36.6
Sarawak220Baram 23,219 24,425 95.1
Sarawak221Limbang 18,627 20,315 91.7
Sarawak222Lawas 15,334 15,717 97.6
Sarawak Total

571,086 912,454 62.6
Malaysia Total

3,795,661 10,922,139 34.8

Source: SPR and MALVU analysis.

Further reading and quote from "Sarawak Election Monitoring 2006":

`When asked about SPR’s misleading method of not giving the voters’ street address (currently only voting areas are given –which may not coincide with street names) SPR could only blame it on the past practice of registering voters according to any address given. Only after July 16th 2002 that the law had been changed to register voters according to their IC address. However for the thousands of voters at Rajang Park whose address are untraceable according to the Sibu Municipal Council Valuation Chief the problem arise from the SPR’s inexplicable method of leaving out the street name in the voters’ roll, rather than due to the voters not registering with addresses not found in their IC.’


1 comment:

OnsoiKayam said...

Sabah has the highest number of No Rumah, it's because Musa Aman had rempas their land. Giant plantation company almost bought Sabah land for Oil Palm.