KUALA TERENGGANU, March 5 (bernama) — Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak described the move by the Election Commission (EC) to reverse its earlier decision to use indelible ink on the nails or fingers of voters as most appropriate.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the decision was felt necessary to avoid the possibility of chaos or tension during the polling day on Saturday.
He said if the proposal were to be adopted, there was a possibility that certain parties would sabotage the election, thereby denying the rights of voters to discharge their responsibility to vote.
“The reversal was made because of the two possibilities, namely the act of sabotage…meaning there are people who can influence some voters to use almost similar ink on various grounds.
“In such cases, they are not eligible to vote. If they are not eligible to vote, we are denying their rights under the national constitution and this will lead to chaos and tension on polling day,” he said.
He said this to reporters after a gathering with Felda settlers here today. Najib, who was accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, is on a one-day visit to Terengganu.
Also present at the function were Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Idris Jusoh and Felda Chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Yusof Noor.
Yesterday, the EC reversed its earlier decision to use indelible ink on the nails of voters on the polling day.
EC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said the security report received by the EC revealed that there were certain groups in Malaysia who were planning to buy the ink from abroad.
These groups were said to be planning to swipe the ink of the nails of voters in the rural areas to create confusion and suspicion on these voters.