KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — Indelible ink will be used in the coming general election after its use was gazetted on February 13, Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said yesterday.
“We cannot order the ink early because after three months the ink will no longer be indelible,” he was quoted by Bernama as saying during an interview on the “Dialog” programme titled “Daftar dan Undi” (Register and Vote) aired on RTM1 last night.
He said: “It will take only two weeks to receive the ink. Our preparation in terms of the boxes, bottles and bottle lids is already under way.”
According to Bernama report, he said the EC would put an order for the ink as soon as the dissolution of Parliament is announced.
However, the colour of the ink has yet to be determined and it would not be used for postal voting, he added.
Abdul Aziz advised voters not to allow other parties to ink their fingers before they arrived at voting centres to ensure their eligibility to vote is not compromised.
Voters would have their left forefinger inked at their voting centres, he said, adding that use of the ink had been approved by the Chemistry Department, Health Ministry and National Fatwa Committee.
Last December, Abdul Aziz had announced that the EC would use silver nitrate indelible ink for the general election, which is different from the indelible ink proposed during the 2008 general election, but was not implemented after its effectiveness was questioned by various quarters.
