U-turn on ink: A black mark for EC

The BN Government went overboard to ensure that EC chairperson Abdul Rashid continues to be EC Chairperson, did they not? EC decided the use of the indelible ink which was to be used to mark the fingers of voters after they had voted - this would prevent the same voter going somewhere else and voting again. (This practice is also used in India - where the population is so much larger than Malaysia - and it has been successfully been used...) We now find out from the police that there were 4 police reports made - 2 in Perlis, one in Kedah and one in Kelantan that third parties have bought the said ink... this is very interesting, so what can people who have bought the ink do - go around and mark the fingers of all those who will be voting for the opposing candidate of theirs. If this happens, would it not be easy for the police to arrest the perpetrators + possibly for the victims of this act to SUE the said persons in court for damages because they have wrongfully been deprived of their right to vote.. It is absurd for the IGP to interfere and ask the SPR to re-evaluate its decision to use that indelible ink....and it is so much more difficult to catch them voters who go around voting more than once....is it not. There are always possibilities of this and that happening - and this ink has been used in Indian elections for so long --- so the EC action was WRONG. The EC has also not come out and made any statements about the PM, DPM and the Barisan Candidates use of the media and government resources. There should NOT be any such "ground-breaking ceremony for this new school", "handing over of land titles, etc..." and all such nonsense especially during the campaign period of 13 days. And what are PUBLIC SERVANTS doing by coming out praising the BN. Teachers coming out saying BN good and we still want the same Education Minister.... During the campaign period, at the very least, PUBLIC SERVANTS must not be coming out in praise of the political party that had been governing the country. Hello....we are now in the process of choosing which political party will govern...who will be the people's rep for our area... U-turn on ink: A black mark for EC

Mar 4, 08 6:32pm

Opposition parties today slammed the Election Commission for the last-minute reversal of its plan to use the indelible ink in the coming general election, which they claimed could have stopped the menace of phantom voters. In an immediate reaction, PKR’s deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali did not mince his words when he charged that the cancellation of the use of indelible ink was clear proof that the “EC is colluding with BN to allow cheating in the coming general elections”. “Despite all assurances and false gestures, it is now clear the (EC chairperson) Abdul Rashid (Abdul Rahman) is content to conduct the 12th general election in an atmosphere completely bereft of integrity,” he said in a statement. “Citing 'public order' and 'security' is also nonsensical reasoning that is perfectly consistent with the language of forces around the world who seek to supress democratic freedoms,” he added. Syed Husin said that polls reform group Bersih, which represents not just political parties but a wide swathe of civil society, has campaigned tirelessly for indelible ink to be used to battle the scourge of phantom voters. He also said that candidates have observed irregularities in postal voting, and revealed "hundreds and thousands" of false addresses, dead individuals and voters over 100 years old in the electoral rolls. “At a moment where the eyes of the entire world are upon us, the EC has now conclusively and irrevocably shown that any overtures towards reform that it had made previously were in bad faith, and that in decisive moments, the EC will yield to every demand of its political masters,” Syed Husin decried. He however said that the PKR noted one positive outcome of this development - that the BN intelligence must clearly be showing a swing towards the opposition, thus forcing them to resort once again to phantom voters and other forms of cheating. Under protest Meanwhile PAS leader and member of Bersih's steering committee Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad also similarly expressed his outraged with EC's stunning reversal today. "This means that none of our demands are getting through. We thought it would at least go through with (using indelible ink)," said the director of PAS Research Centre. "We want to make it clear that we are entering this election under protest," he said. "We could foresee this coming. Now, our concerns and anxieties are immensely vindicated." Despite his outrage with the EC's move, Dzulkifli urged opposition candidates and sympathisers to remain calm and focus on the task at hand - winning the upcoming polls. "We will not be provoked. We will remain resilient, calm and relentless. We will maintain the due process of the elections. We will not destroy our chances of victory and will not do anything untoward." After the polls, however, Bersih would "surely" file a petition on this matter, Dzulkifli said. DAP looking at legal avenues DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng also said that the decision today would only benefit BN as it amounted to the EC sanctioning the ruling party’s "cheating and abuses" in the election. He said that the EC must also explain as to how the use of indelible ink can threaten public order and security issues. “It is ridiculous that the use of indelible ink can put the whole country into chaos and ruination,” he said. He also said that the decision to cancel the use of indelible ink meant that the EC was wasting the RM2 million spent on buying 47,000 bottles of indelible ink. “The EC has also destroyed its credibility, integrity and independence by cancelling the use at the last minute when it had earlier touted the use of indelible ink as a sign of its commitment towards ensuring free, fair, clean elections,” he said. He warned that the people might not accept the results of the election on March 8 if it was tainted by abuses, cheating and vote rigging. Lim also said that DAP was exploring legal avenues to see how it can prevent the EC from abandoning the use of indelible ink. Mafrel PC tomorrow PKR vice-president R Sivarasa, who is also the candidate for Selangor's Subang parliamentary seat, matched the indignation unleashed by Dzulkifli. "I am completely shocked by this decision. It is tantamount to perpetuating a fraud on the elections," he said. "From last July to just recently they told the Malaysian public that they were using indelible ink. And the reasons they give for cancelling the ink are nonsensical. How can marking someone's finger have anything to do with national security?" he asked. Election watchdog Mafrel, when contacted, said that it would be commenting on the matter through a press conference tomorrow. Earlier today, EC chairperson Abdul Rashid announced the cancellation of the use of the indelible ink for this general election, citing public order and security issues. Polis ada alasan kukuh Oleh Rosli Abdul Jalil dan Fatin Hafizah Mohd Shahar (Berita Harian 6/3/2008) Tan Sri Musa Hassan SPR batal guna dakwat untuk elak kekecohan pada hari mengundi KUANTAN: Polis mempunyai alasan kukuh apabila meminta Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) menimbang semula penggunaan dakwat khas bagi menanda kuku atau jari pengundi pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke-12 Sabtu ini, kata Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan. "Seperti yang sudah saya katakan, polis menerima empat laporan, iaitu dua di Perlis dan masing-masing satu di Kedah dan Kelantan, daripada orang awam yang menerima maklumat dakwat itu sudah dibeli pihak tertentu. "Siasatan menunjukkan kemungkinan mereka hendak gunakan dakwat berkenaan dengan mencalitnya pada jari pengundi," katanya dalam sidang media selepas mendengar taklimat mengenai persiapan pilihan raya di Ibu Pejabat Polis Kontinjen (IPK) Pahang di sini, semalam. SPR kelmarin memutuskan untuk membatalkan cadangan menggunakan tanda dakwat kekal di kuku atau jari tangan pengundi pada pilihan raya umum Sabtu ini berdasarkan nasihat dari segi perundangan dan aspek ketenteraman dan keselamatan awam. Tahun lalu SPR memutuskan untuk menggunakan dakwat khas dari India itu bagi menanda kuku atau jari pengundi dalam usaha mengelak penipuan pada pilihan raya umum kali ini.