EC: Special team on why indelible ink was not indelible

KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (EC) has set up a special team to find out why the indelible ink used to mark voters in the 13th general election could be easily removed, said EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof on Tuesday. He said the team would look into, among others, the ingredients of the ink, the Health Ministry's conditions and how the ink was applied on the finger.

The team would also examine the outcome of tests conducted before and after the ink was brought into Malaysia, he said in a statement.

For the first time in a general election in Malaysia, the EC used the indelible ink to mark voters in the May 5 general election to prevent possible repeat voting, but received flak from political parties, electoral candidates and voters when it was learnt that the ink could be washed away easily.
Abdul Aziz said the team was expected to complete the investigation in a month.

He also said that the EC viewed with concern the distribution of video recordings, text and pictures on social websites and news portals and in the print media on all kinds of baseless accusations and allegations directed at the EC.

He said the allegations included claims of foreigners voting in the general election, blackouts at vote tallying centres, three ballot boxes missing from the vote-tallying centre in Putrajaya, ballot boxes airdropped from helicopters to ensure victory of certain candidates.

Further allegations were EC vehicles bringing ballot boxes to tallying centres to manipulate the election result, EC staff asking candidates' agents to sign the Borang 14 (Form 14) before the counting of votes had been completed and transporting of phantom voters from Sabah and Sarawak to vote in the peninsula.

Abdul Aziz said all these allegations were baseless and were aimed at confusing the people.
As such, he added, the EC had lodged a police report through its secretary, Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria, in a move to maintain its good name and integrity as an independent body under the Federal Constitution.

He also said that the EC would continue with its explanation of issues pertaining to the 13th general election, through the media and other means, to present the people with the correct information.

"The EC advises the people to filter the information that they garner from the social media. If necessary, they can contact the EC to get valid information on any issue," he said.

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Polls results to be gazetted by this month

 

PUTRAJAYA: Quarters unhappy with the 13th general election results will have 21 days to file petitions when the polls outcome is gazetted this month.

Election Commission (EC) deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said the EC secretariat was now receiving Form 16, on the declaration of the election results, from the 222 parliamentary and 505 state constituencies contested nationwide.

“Results announced by the Returning Officers that night are final and anyone who's not happy can use the legal channel to protest,” he said at the EC headquarters here.

Wan Ahmad said Article 118 of the Federal Constitution clearly stated that any quarter who disagree with the election results could file a petition at the High Court.

“Don't instigate the people, especially the young, to go to the streets by telling lies and defaming the EC,” he added.

Meanwhile, Wan Ahmad said the memorandum received by the EC from several youth and students associations on Friday was made based on unfounded allegations and seditious statements.

Wan Ahmad said the memorandum was clearly made without proper research by those who did not understand the law.

On allegations of phantom voters, Wan Ahmad said they should bring the case to court if there was evidence. - Bernama

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Any mark within candidates' column on ballot paper counts, says EC

KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (EC) has clarified that any mark on the ballot paper counts is recognised as long as it is made within a candidate's column, said EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

"Words are not acceptable, but a dot, tick or any other mark that can be constituted as having the intention of choosing a candidate is valid," he said here on Thursday.

"In our guideline, we stated that any mark is accepted and not just an 'X', provided it is not made in all columns," he said.

Abdul Aziz made the comment in reference to the 332,297 spoiled ballots in the 13th general election last Sunday, compared to 324,120 in 2008.

Of the spoiled votes, 171,556 ballots were for parliamentary seats while 151,741 were for state seats.

He said the number of spoiled votes showed that many Malaysians were still unaware on how to mark their ballot papers, resulting in hundreds of thousands being rejected.

He also did not rule out the possibly of voters intentionally spoiling votes because they were not sure who to vote for.

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Indelible ink will once again be used in GE14, with improvements

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (EC) will continue to use indelible ink in the 14th general election with improvements, especially in terms of quality, said its deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar.

"The indelible ink will be used with some improvements, especially in terms of quality. We will study the ingredients and put a standard on ink quality," he told reporters after an appearance on Bernama TV Tuesday night.

He said the use of indelible ink was decided by the Parliamentary Select Committee and stated in election laws.

"The people must understand that we were using indelible ink for the first time, and surely there would have been shortcomings. We appointed a well-known company to produce the ink for GE13.
"Some 250,000 bottles of indelible ink were booked two months before GE13.

"We stored them in police lock-ups for safekeeping. Probably due to the long storage period, the ink content dropped and it became thinner," he said.

He slammed those who used bleach to remove the indelible ink wash and uploaded video on social networking sites to destroy the credibility of the EC.

On the alleged blackout during the counting process, Wan Ahmad said no such incident happened as he had confirmed it with all the returning officers.

"When I received information about the alleged blackout, I called the returning officers in all the states but was told no such thing occurred," he said.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad had previously said there was no power blackout during the counting of votes on polling day.

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Tahniah! BN menang lagi

 

BN menang lagi! Walaupun kalah tipis di beberapa negeri namun kekuatannya tidak boleh disangkal. Mandat Najib harus dilaksanakan segera agar rakyat tidak lagi seperti dulu, terkakai mencari haluan. 

Walaupun pembangkang cuba menggunakan taktik namun BN tetap menang dengan bangganya. Maka di sini, saya ingin mengucapkan tahniah kepada BN atas kemenangannya, tidak lupa juga buat semua yang mengundinya. 

Laungkan " TATAP BN" !

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Agents should not claim victory without official result

 

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) has advised agents of political parties at the voting centres not to exceed the powers of its officers by announcing victory for the candidate concerned without the official result.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said such acts would create tension and chaos.

Abdul Aziz also hoped that nobody would try to influence the public to demonstrate if their party had lost, and for those who were dissatisfied, they could submit an election petition within 12 days after the gazetting of the result.

He said the earliest result of the counting of early votes was expected to be received at about 7.30pm, but it depended on various factors and situations.

“To those who were declared winners during polling day, it is hoped that they would not celebrate their victory excessively. The EC does not want to see any act that can jeopardise harmony and public order.

“For the unsuccessful candidates, they are advised to accept the result because it is the voters who decide and the losers can try again in future,” he said at a media conference, here.

In addition, Abdul Aziz advised Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar and Tian Chua against sensationalising the indelible ink issue.

This morning, Nurul Izzah and Tian Chua were present at the EC office to seek clarification on the matter.

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EC-Campaigning for GE13 end 11.59 Saturday

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission today reminded all political parties that the 13th General Election campaign period, which started on April 20, will come to an end at precisely 11.59 pm tonight (Saturday).

“All campaign activities must be halted after that,” stressed EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof .

He said on May 5, which is the polling day, the EC will enforce Section 26(1) of the Election Offences Act 1954 which prohibits any form of meeting, rally, display or entertainment from being held, convened or organised in any place.

The section further prohibits the supply of any loud speaker or other such instruments intended for the use of political propaganda and the opening of any office or booth in any constituency, he told a press conference at the EC head-quarters here.

“It also prohibits anyone from trying to establish the identity of any person entering a polling station; check their identities against a name list; solicit or attempt to persuade someone to abstain from voting; or wait or loiter except to cast their votes, within 50 metres of the limits of polling stations,” he said.

Abdul Aziz added that no one is allowed to wear or carry any form of clothing, head covering or other items specified in the section displaying the name of a candidate or the name or symbol of any political party within the same distance.

Anyone who contravenes these provisions shall be liable, on conviction, to a jail term of up to one year or fine of up to a maximum of RM5,000 or both, he said.

Residences within 50 metres from the limits of any polling station are also prohibited from being used as gathering places or to canvass for votes, he said.

“Existing party offices can remain open but cannot be used to canvas for votes,” he added.

Abdul Aziz cautioned that anyone found selling or offering to buy ballot papers may be imprisoned for up to two years or fined up to RM5,000 or both, upon conviction.

He further advised that anyone convicted of these offences may be struck off the electoral rolls and banned from voting at any elections for up to five years from the date of conviction.

He also raised Section 3(1)(n) of the Act saying,” Anyone who obstructs or prevents a voter who is entitled to vote from voting shall be liable to a maximum of two years jail or a maximum of RM5,000 fine or both upon conviction.”

“We advise all parties, be they candidates, party supporters or workers, and voters to obey the laws, and EC’s regulations, code of ethics and Police orders to ensure a smooth and peaceful 13th General Election,” he concluded.

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EC assures all overseas postal ballots will reach Returning Officers

PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission has assured that 6,092 letters containing overseas postal ballot papers will arrive at the respective offices of the Returning Officers (RO).

Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the papers were received from 100 Malaysian missions worldwide such as Muscat, Dublin and New York.

“Not much problems were faced in the transportation of the papers.

"A total of 8,725 forms were sent overseas on April 28 and 6,092 were claimed by the voters.

"There were 2,633 unclaimed forms,” he told a press conference after inspecting the retrieval of overseas postal voting forms at the Foreign Ministry.

Abdul Aziz said the transportation process of the voting forms would cut out any chance of cheating or tampering.

He also showed the media a locked diplomatic bag containing overseas postal ballot papers that had been separated according to the constituencies and sent to the offices of the ROs. The bags containing the postal votes and boxes with ballots via early voting would only be opened on polling day and counted together with normal votes. - Bernama

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PM's Office, MAS rubbish Anwar's claim of flying in voters

KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister's Office has denied any involvement in the opposition's claim that Malaysians, as well as, foreigners are being flown in to the peninsula to vote in Sunday's polls.

In a brief statement, a government spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister's office denies any involvement in these flights. The Election Commission has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the electoral system is stronger than ever, and the elections are free and fair."

Malaysia Airlines has also denied allegations that it was deploying chartered flights to transport phantom voters for the polls.

"Malaysia Airlines wishes to clarify that all chartered flights in the national carrier's system are commercial chartered flights," it said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was responsible for chartering flights for an extremely large group of foreigners to fly in to Peninsular Malaysia from Sabah and Sarawak.

He claimed that they would be ferried around the various constituencies in the peninsula to vote in favour of Barisan Nasional.

He also claimed to have a copy of an email correspondence between top executives in an airline company, which implied that officers working in the PMO were behind the charters.

In a press conference at the party headquarters here, Anwar claimed the chartered flights, which started since April 25, were as many as 16 a day, departing from Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Miri and Sibu.

"Based on our calculations, as many as 4,500 people are being transported via the in-bound flights into KLIA each day.

"This means at least 40,500 dubious individuals have and are still entering via this method of chartered flights via KLIA," he claimed.

He added that this did not include the sudden surge in arrivals of foreigners from Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan and Myanmar through Bukit Kayu Hitam as well as those from Indonesia through Port Klang and other coastal entry points.

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Voters can ask to replace smudged ballot papers

PUTRAJAYA: Voters who accidentally smudge their ballot papers with the indelible ink need not worry as they can ask for a replacement, said Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria.

“However, they need to return the smudged papers before getting new ones. The indelible ink dries up very fast so there is no need to worry,” he said yesterday.

He was responding to postings on social media which urged voters to wrap their marked fingers in cling film to prevent their ballot papers from getting smudged and thus declared null.

On ploys to convince people to mark their fingers with ink prior to polling day, Kamaruddin said such tactics would not work as they would not be allowed to vote.

The indelible ink lasts for one week.

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Sabah BN closes in on fence-sitters

 

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Barisan Nasional is sensing a convincing victory as its candidates close in on fence-sitters who comprise less then 30% of the total 981,814 voters in the state.
With five-days of campaigning left, Barisan officials said they have swung a good percentage of the middle ground in their favour and hoped to hasten it in the last 72 hours before the May 5 polls.
They believed that the initial count of fence-sitters was about 32% among the Kadazandusun and Murut voters and up to 57% with the Chinese, with Muslim bumiputeras more or less decided.
One observation by them was that the Kadazandusun and Murut voters could be convinced to switch to Barisan in the final days of campaign but it may be tougher to rope in the Chinese.
"I believe the majority of the Chinese will make a firm choice a day or the night before polling.
"It is hard to assess because the Chinese-based parties don't rely on party membership for support as they have only small number," said a senior Barisan leader.
He said gauging the Chinese would depend on how their clan associations, traders and hawkers' associations or non-government organisations, school boards and other groups felt about Barisan and the opposition parties.
The Chinese fence-sitters could always swing to one-side at the last minute, dealing a crucial blow to any party candidate.
Among the Muslim bumputeras, the margin of fence-sitters was negligible as the view of the Barisan official was that they had decided to be either "with us or against us" or throw their support to their family connections by blood or marriage.
"Generally, it will be up to the candidate to bring them back to the Barisan side," he added.
Coalition candidates have been constantly reminded to make their ground assessment accurately as the multi-cornered fights in some areas may not be in their favour.
They are also cautious in predicting a near clean sweep of the 60 state and 25 parliamentary seats for Barisan as last-minute mood swings have turned the tables in past elections.

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Age is not a problem: Dompok

Putatan: United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) President Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said the main issue against him in Penampang - where he is defending his parliamentary seat - is that he (Dompok) is too old and had been too long in politics.

"But I don't feel old. When I see in TV, (opposition leaders) Nik Aziz and Lim Kit Siang, I ask my wife why people say I am older than them? I don't believe they are younger than me?" he said.

"On May 5, please come out to vote for Datuk Yahya Hussin for the Petagas state seat and Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh for the Putatan Parliament seat, while those in Penampang, please don't forget me," he said, at a meet-the-people session at Kg Duvanson, Saturday.

He also said the call for change or "tukar" must not necessarily apply to a change of the government but merely policies that are deemed non-beneficial.

He said the country had seen tremendous improvement and changes through the various transformation programmes implemented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"This is why Upko and other BN component parties stand united behind the Prime Minister and his transformation programmes," he said.

Dompok described the 13th General Election as very unique compared to the previous one in 2008 and let alone the 2004 general election when BN was not challenged.

"But I think Malaysians know only the BN is qualified to lead the country.

Yes, there could be a small voice in Putatan who are saying "ini kali lah" and those denying the development brought about by the BN all this while," he said.

However, the right answer for him is the various transformation programmes that had been implemented by the BN under the leadership of Najib.

"We have been calling for the illegal immigrant issue to be resolved but never got an absolute answer until after Najib took office whereby the Federal Government agreed to set up the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in Sabah," he said.

Dompok, who is also Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, recalled in 2008 that he had spoken in Parliament calling for the abolishment of the ISA, which he felt was a law that was no longer necessary.

Finally, the Prime Minister agreed to repeal the ISA among others after discussing it with the Federal Cabinet.

Another significant matter was the recognition of September 16, as Malaysia Day when it was declared a national public holiday during Najib's administration, he said.

As for the call for an increase in oil royalty to 20 per cent, he said it was not necessary to change the government in order to get it because the BN had given its commitment to give allocations to Sabah of not less than the value of 20 per cent oil royalty, in the BN "Akujanji" manifesto.

Towards this end, Dompok urged the people here to continue supporting the BN candidate for Petagas, Datuk Yahya Hussin and Putatan Parliament, Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh.

"This election I can feel that it will be BN once again, the opposition cannot win and they also cannot administer the country," he said.

Meanwhile, Mojigoh said the BN campaign approach here reflected the unity culture in BN.

"We totally reject the culture of violence," he said.

He also welcomed the entry of about 300 Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) members led by PKR Tanjung Aru election director, Duarin Harris.

Later, Mojigoh accompanied Dompok to receive the membership applications from them.

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Agnes Shim makes history as first Sabah MCA woman candidate

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah MCA's first woman candidate Datuk Agnes Shim Tshin Nyuk is keen to contribute to the Luyang community.

She has been quietly giving of her time for a couple of decades in a variety of causes for society.

In her 25 years of serving the community, Sabah MCA's first woman candidate has focused a lot on issues involving women empowerment.

Barisan Nasional's Luyang state seat candidate is a first-time contestant, banking on her social experience to compete against a field of three other contenders, two of whom are political heavy weights.

The fight for the Luyang seat is seen as a tough tussle between Shim, incumbent Melanie Chia of SAPP and DAP's Hiew King Chieu, the former MP who moved to the state seat from his Kota Kinabalu parliament seat.

Rounding off the contest for this Chinese majority seat of 20, 119 voters is STAR's Jafery Jomion.

Chia won the seat on a BN ticket when SAPP was still a Barisan component party in 2008 with a majority of 1,502 votes.

As a social worker, Shim said she would be able to serve the people better if she makes it to the state assembly.

"I have served in many NGOs and various charities but I still think I haven't done enough for the community.”

“If voters give me the mandate, I will be able to serve the people on a higher level," she said as she campaigned through the constituency using personal touch to reach out to voters.

Although it is her maiden battle, Shim expects her deeds to speak for her. “People have called me even in the wee hours of the morning to help them with their problems and I've never ignored a single one. This, I feel, show that I am up for the job,” she said.

She vows to be even more dedicated in helping raise the standard of living among residents there who are from various income levels.

“Existing benefits offered by the BN government such as BR1M and Klinik 1Malaysia can help me reach out further to help more people,” she said.

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EC reprints book version of electoral roll after corrections

KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (EC) has reprinted the electoral roll following the discovery of errors in the identity numbers of early voters, its secretary Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Bariasaid.

He said the mistakes involved only 572 of the 272,387 early voters nationwide and the corrected version has been distributed to the returning officers and candidates through the state election offices.

"We will also write to the political party leaders on the matter to ensure the same version is used by the candidates, their agents and EC personnel at the early polling centres," he said in a statement here. Kamaruddin said the mistake only affected the electoral roll in book form and not the CD, EC website, the 13th General Election portal or the short-messaging-system (sms).

"The data in these systems are correct and show that the voters identity information are the same as in the EC's electoral roll database," he said.

 - Bernama

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Annual funds for vernacular schools if BN wins

MUAR: The Barisan Nasional Government will provide an annual allocation to Chinese and Tamil schools if it wins in GE13.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had repeatedly given the assurance that national-type schools would continue to be developed and receive assistance.

Speaking in Kampung Temiang here, he said Barisan would never close down vernacular schools even if the number of pupils were low.

“Not a single Chinese or Tamil school has been closed since Independence. However, some Opposition leaders told the Chinese community that Barisan will close such schools if we win,” he said at the opening of SJKC Aik Ming's new building yesterday.

Muhyiddin said that last year, the Government allocated RM100mil to Chinese and Tamil schools and another RM100mil this year, adding that it planned to provide a special allocation every year if given a new mandate.

He also stressed that national schools or sekolah kebangsaan were not Malay but Malaysian schools and were open to everyone.

He also said Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not likely to be the prime minister even if the alliance won the 13th general election.

He said this was because PAS leaders and supporters wanted partypresident Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to be the prime minister, adding that parties within Pakatan had been disputing seat allocations.

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GE13: Donations to independent Chinese schools to be tax exempted

KUANTAN: Donations to independent Chinese schools will be given tax exemption, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Prime Minister made the announcement in his speech at a dinner hosted by the Kuantan Chinese community at a hotel here on Thursday.

He said the move to exempt tax on monetary contributions would help development for the schools.

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The 16th thrusts in Sabah BN Manifesto

16 thrusts of points in the Sabah BN Manifesto, which also known as Aku Janji manifesto. The state government has indeed, giving its utmost performance throughout the year. I am sure more and more supporters are taking this opportunity, to support them by giving their votes.

As its highlighted quote stated below " Kami telah tunaikan, lebih banyak lagi akan dilaksanakan ", I hope more and more good things to come. 

TATAP BN!

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Zahid: 35 Sulu militants killed trying to enter Sabah to cause problems during polls

 

GEORGE TOWN: Thirty-five armed Sulu militants attempting to enter Sabah were shot dead by the Philippines navy and coast guard on Wednesday, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

He said they were shot before they could enter Malaysian waters after refusing to turn back.

He added that according to intelligence reports, the group was attempting to enter Sabah to cause problems during the general election.

"If they had entered our waters, we would have taken them out. We will defend our country," he said at a press conference here Thursday.

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Stay out of GE13 activities, cops warn immigrant workers

KUALA LUMPUR: Severe action will be taken against immigrant workers who are involved in activities related to the 13th General Election (GE13).

The warning comes from Inspector-General of Police Secretariat assistant head (public relations) ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf who stressed that the immigrant workers were barred from involvement in GE13, including putting up flags of political parties.

“Action will be taken against them and the locals who hire them under the Immigration Regulation and Immigration Act 1959/1963,” he told a media briefing at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman here Tuesday.

He also reminded supporters of political parties not to stick posters or hang party flags on police vehicles.

Ramli said, 1,363 activities related to GE13 were reported nationwide yesterday, namely, ceramah (545), meetings (250), house visits (69), campaigns (181) and others (318).

He said, as of yesterday, 202 police reports were lodged and 15 arrests were made, including six in Penang which were linked to general election offences.

He also urged supporters of political parties not to keep dangerous weapons in public places to avoid untoward incidents.

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PM - Opposition pledge to increase Sabah’s oil royalty will kill off interest in developing petroleum industry

BEAUFORT: The opposition's promise of increasing Sabah's oil royalty from the present 5% to 20% will kill off interest in developing the offshore petroleum industry, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The Prime Minister said under the current arrangement, petroleum companies continue to tap into marginal fields that would eventually spell increased revenue for Sabah.

''This will not happen with the Opposition's promise of a 20% royalty share for Sabah. There will be no incentive for petroleum companies to develop our fields,'' he said when launching Yayasan Sabah roadshow in Kuala Penyu near here.

''What the Opposition wants to do, in essence, is to kill the proverbial goose that has been laying the golden egg,'' Najib said to the cheers and applause of the large crowd.

He said though Sabah now gets 5% of petroleum revenues, the state receives more in terms of development funds and numerous special financial allocations from the federal government.

''This is all possible when we have a strong mandate,'' Najib said, adding that, among the special funding for the state, was a RM250mil grant that was the federal government's contribution for an international standard convention centre costing some RM500mil in Kota Kinabalu.

At the event, the Prime Minister also launched the 1.2km long Sitompok Bridge costing some RM59.6mil located just outside of Kuala Penyu town.

He said the long bridge was just one of Barisan Nasional's many achievements in Sabah that included reducing the poverty rate from 19.7% in 1999 to 8.1% last year.

Najib said the opposition on the other hand could only be counted on to make unrealistic promises in their manifestos.

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