Health Ministry denial exposes EC's deceit, says PKR
The new health minister’s denial that the Election Commission (EC) had asked for a report on indelible ink suggests that the EC chief has been misleading the public, said PKR.
The new health minister’s denial that the Election Commission (EC) had asked for a report on indelible ink suggests that the EC chief has been misleading the public, said PKR.
PKR vice-president Tian Chua was responding to Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam's statement yesterday that he did not recall any report being prepared for the EC on the health risks of the ink being used in the 13th general election.
“The EC chairperson has been misdirecting the rakyat for a good two months now, and he has failed to restore the faith of the rakyat in the EC.
“It’s clear now with evidence ( the minister’s claim ), he has been dishonest with all his statements. This clearly shows that the EC has failed to keep their promises made to the rakyat to maintain free and fair elections,” said Chua in a statement today.
He noted how EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (
left
) had been issuing “many stories and excuses” on the indelible ink being easily removed, defeating its purpose as a foil to election fraud.
“Among the excuses was the EC staff’s incompetence to not shake the bottle before use, the quality (of the ink having) deteriorated due to long storage in the police station, the lower silver nitrate content (1 percent) as the Health Ministry warned anything more can lead to cancer or failure of organs, and last but not least, the silver nitrate was replaced with herbal ingredients.”
Chua said the public was thus justified in holding rallies to “oppose the foul play”.
“The EC head must take responsibility and resign immediately; otherwise the election process can be considered tainted and discredited,” said the Batu MP.
The failure of the indelible ink to do its job - that is to prevent an individual voting multiple times under different identities - has been widely reported in the week leading up to the election and on polling day itself.
Some reported easily removing the ink stain using household detergents, while some voters in Sabah told Malaysiakini they removed it wiping their finger on blades of grass .
On May 6 alone, over 100 police reports were lodged on the indelible ink’s failure.
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