Election Commission (EC) chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof must produce the letter that the Health Ministry has sent him, on the danger of too much silver nitrate in indelible ink.

dap special meeting 110313 lim guan eng Failure to do so, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng ( left ), should be followed with Aziz’s resignation as EC chief.

Lim was referring to Aziz’s repeated claims that the Health Ministry had issued a safety report that warned of potential health risks from more than one percent silver nitrate concentration in indelible ink, despite this being denied.

Silver nitrate is what makes indelible ink last, once it is used on a surface.

Lim, who is Penang chief minister, said the EC is “indirectly blaming” the ministry for causing it to waste RM6 million on purchasing the indelible ink, which was easily washed off.

“If the Health Ministry cannot even trust the EC, how can the people trust the EC to be clean, fair and free in conducting elections?” Lim asked in a statement today.

NONE “The fiasco of the indelible ink that could be easily washed off has destroyed what little integrity EC has left, plunging its credibility to its lowest depth in history.

“Never before has the EC adopted BN’s political attacks against the opposition, and has even threatened to sue Pakatan (Rakyat) leaders.”

'Health Ministry consulted'

Aziz had said in an interview with the Singapore Straits Times last month that the EC received a letter from the Malaysian Health Ministry, warning of potential kidney damage and cancer risks associated with a more than one percent content of silver nitrate content in indelible ink.

NONE However, Aziz's claim was denied by current Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam ( left ), who said the ministry did not issue any safety report on the ink, and that the EC had not requested for any such report.

Yet, in a text-message to Malaysiakini last Saturday, Aziz had reiterated his initial claim.

"Yes, we did (send the ink to the ministry for safety evaluation) and we have the reply," he texted.

The use of the indelible ink during the May 5 general election drew flak from voters after several reports were lodged on the ease with which the ink could be removed from their index fingers.

The EC had initially claimed the ink could last up to at least seven days .

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