Open letter to the cheating ones
Open letter to Tunku Abdul Aziz bin Tunku Ibrahim, EC Chairman Tan
Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof and EC Deputy Chairman Datuk Wira Wan Ahmad Wan Omar.
I write this letter out of concern as a Malaysian that Election
Commission of Malaysia will abuse the use of Regulation 15 (1) hand in hand
with Borang 717 and the indelible ink. I
fully support what Tunku Abdul Aziz and Zul have mentioned repeatedly in the press, that
there will be chaos on 5th May 2013 but differ in who are the people
behind.
Here is my opinion:-
The abuse of Regulation 15 and Borang 717:-
Regulation 15.
Admittance to polling station.
(1) No person shall be admitted to vote at any polling station except
the polling station to which that part of the electoral roll which contains his
name has been assigned:
Provided that where an elector for any constituency is employed as a
presiding officer or in any other official capacity at a polling station within
that constituency and it is inconvenient for him to vote at the polling station
to which that part of the electoral roll which contains his name has been
assigned, the returning officer may authorize such elector to vote at any other
polling station in the constituency. Such authorization shall be given under
the hand of the returning officer and shall state the name of the elector and
his number in the electoral roll, and the fact that he is so employed as
aforesaid and shall specify the polling station at which he is authorized to
vote.
Borang 717 goes hand in hand with regulation 15 (1). According to EC just last week, this form was
used before but for 13th GE it will not be applicable. Getting verbal assurance from EC is not
concrete as this Borang 717 can be abused in rural areas. EC must put it in writing that regulation 15
(1) and Borang 717 have been deleted from Election (Conduct of Elections)
Regulations 1981. (Incorporating latest amendment – P.U.(A) 113/2012. EC had refused till today to delete this
clause.
Abuse of Indelible ink and the systematic
delay process of voting
1.
Indelible ink – Ordinary,
Advanced and Postal Voters
Indelible ink is
only used for Ordinary Voters on Polling Day, May 5.
Advanced voters
like those in the military, police and their spouses do not need to use
indelible ink on April 30 2013 when they vote in advance. There is no way to
identify that they have already voted. And if they vote again during Polling
Day on May 5, the election officials and polling agents will not be able to
identify and stop them from voting.
Postal voters also
do not need to use indelible ink. These include Election Commission officials
and journalists serving during elections, as well as absent and overseas
voters.
2.
Increase in the number of
postal voters
During the 2008 General Elections, the number of postal voters was
140,000. However, this number increased to 300,000 for the 2013 General
Elections. From what I understand, the number consists of mainly Election
Commission officials that are not marked with indelible ink.
3.
Time factor
There are a few
reasons why I believe that the Election Commission is trying to reduce the
number of people voting.
(a)
Indelible ink contains silver
nitrate which does not work under 30 seconds. This is because under the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) guidelines, indelible ink needs to be
exposed to ultra-violet light/sunlight for at least 30-seconds in order for it
to work. However, the Elections Commission said that the indelible ink can dry
in 5 seconds. My question is this: Is the Elections Commission using instant
dry ink? Will the use of tissue papers affect the veracity and validity of the
use of the indelible ink on the fingers?
(b)
Secondly, Kerani 3 has been
instructed to fold the ballot papers before giving them to the voter. In order
for the voter to cross his or her vote, he or she has to unfold the two ballot
papers. There are 25 million ballot papers that have to be folded and unfolded
100 million times. This is obviously a waste of time and a good delay tactic.
This is because
there are 700 or more voters allocated to vote in each classroom. Voting hours
are from 8am to 5pm (9 hours or 540 minutes). If 540 minutes are divided
between 700 voters, this means that each voter only has 0.77 minutes or 46
seconds to cast his or her vote.
Kerani 2 will take
between 50 seconds to two (2) minutes to mark a voter with indelible ink but
voters only have 46 seconds to vote. If the voting period is 540 minutes and
each voter takes about two (2) minutes to vote, the result is only 270 voters
(or 38% of the total population of 700 voters) will get a chance to enter into
the polling booth to vote. This means that more than half of the voters may not
be able to cast their votes due to time constraints.
4.
Possible increase in spoilt
votes
Voters are marked with indelible ink before they take the ballot
papers. In the event the ink on the finger is not yet dry and they take the
ballot papers and open them with their wet finger, there is a high chance that
the ballot papers may be smudged with the ink and this may cause the ballot
paper to be rejected during the counting process.
5.
Distance of Polling Agent
from Voters
Polling Agents
are placed 4 meters away from Kerani 2, who checks the voter’s fingers to see
that there is no indelible ink mark on them. Unfortunately, the polling agent
is unable to counter-check that the voter’s fingers are cleaned because he or
she is seated very far away from Kerani 2. And due to the physical arrangement
or layout of the room, the polling agent’s vision is blocked. As such, there is
a risk that they may not be able to spot a voter who is voting for a second
time.
6.
Duration of indelible ink on
the finger
According to the Election Commission, the indelible ink is supposed
to be able to last about 168 hours or 1 week on the applied finger. However,
the UNDP guidelines state that indelible ink usually lasts no more than 72
hours. There appears to be a discrepancy between UNDP guidelines and the
Election Commission’s claims. No one knows how long the ink will last as it has
not been tested for content and length of time.
7.
Advance voting too early
The Election
Commission has specified that Advanced Voting will be not less than three (3)
days before polling. If that is the case, the ink has to last at least four (4)
days (3 days before polling and 1 polling day).
And if advance
polling is set five (5) days before the actual day, it means that the indelible
ink has to last at least six (6) days (7 days after advance voting plus actual
polling day on May 5).
However, experts have said that
the indelible ink can only last three (3) days. In such a case, the Election
Commission has designed the Advanced Voting process to go beyond the capacity
of the indelible ink. The problem is that the ink may not last long enough so
that it can be shown on polling day.
8.
Increased expenditure for
indelible ink
In 2008, the Elections Commission spent RM2.3 million to buy ink for
10.9 million voters. However, in 2013, the cost shot up to RM10 million for
13.6 million voters. There is an increase of 25% voters but the cost
accelerated sharply 400% to purchase the ink.
My question is this, why has the cost jumped 400%?
The
problems can be solve easily if the Election Commission is truly committed in
their scope of work. I propose the
following:-
1.
Public demonstration of the use
of the indelible ink.
2.
To reveal the chemical
composition and use of the indelible ink.
3.
To reveal how long the
indelible ink lasts.
4.
To shift the position of Kerani
2 (who applies the indelible ink) and applying the ink after the voter has submitted
his ballot papers into the relevant boxes. By doing this, the voter is able to
avoid smudging the ballot papers, sufficient time for the ink to dry after the
voter has voted and this reduces the risk of any delays in the voting process.
In fact, by eliminating the role of Kerani 2, the Election Commission will
actually save RM7 million in terms of costs.
So far the excuse given by Election Commission that voters will run
away after voting is simply unbelievable.
My question is WHY should they?
Unless, if there are foreigners given ID to vote. Many Islamic Countries have done it, so why
is it not possible in Malaysia
Since I have pointed out the problems that will arise on 5th
May 2013, I hereby urge Tunku Aziz, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz and Datuk Wira Wan Ahmad
not to be indifferent to my concern.
AS A MALAYSIAN I WILL DEFINITELY HOLD THE THREE OF YOU RESPONSIBLE
IF CHAOS OR ANOTHER MAY 13 WERE TO HAPPEN.
Dian Abdullah
25th April 2013
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Indelible ink colours kept secret to prevent cheating, says EC chairman
PUTRAJAYA - The colours of the indelible ink to be used in Malaysia's 2013 elections will be known only on polling day to prevent cheating, the Election Commission (EC) chairman has said.
Mr Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof also assured the public that the vault where the ink is stored is heavily guarded by security teams and monitored by closed-circuit television cameras, reported the official Bernama news agency on Thursday.
He added that the colour of the ink is completely different from those available on the market, Bernama reported.
"The colours of the ink are unique and distinctive with material used having special specifications, thus making duplication difficult," Tan Sri Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying.
The EC introduced the use of indelible ink for the first time in this year's elections to prevent repeat voting, following allegations of cheating in previous elections.
Malaysians will go to the polls on May 5, while nominations will be held on April 20, the Election Commission announced on Wednesday.
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EC talking about cheating if ink is known early is simply unaccepted in normal circumstances because the whole nation is encouraging each and everyone in sight to come out to vote. Free transport and flight home are also sponsored. So who in the right mind would want to paint their nails before going to poll on 5th May 2013. Unless it is the biggest losers in the history of Malaysia and that is of course UMNO and the little puppies.
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