BERSIH TRIBUNAL It is very easy to effectively implement the usage of indelible ink during elections, former Indonesian Electoral Commission deputy chairperson Ramlan Surbakti said today.

Ramlan, one of the panel members of the People’s Tribunal on GE13, appeared rather perplexed when hearing out the legal team’s submissions on the Malaysian Election Commission’s (EC) inability to use an ink that lasted for only a few days.

“There is already an international standard. Why is it so difficult for the Election Commission (in Malaysia) to learn from other countries’ experience?” he asked.

Ramlan also said that if a transparent bidding process was done, the formulation of the indelible ink would be available to the public.

“In my country, we did a bidding process and it was all transparent,” said Ramlan, who was deputy chair for Indonesia’s election governing body between 2000 and 2004.

He said the indelible ink in Indonesia was purchased after it was tested to ensure the ink was in accordance with the syariah law of the country.

“We got ours (indelible ink) from India for the year 2004,” Ramlan said.

He said the Indonesian Electoral Commission also tested the ink to ensure it lasted at least three days on an ordinary voter.

“We even used lime to try and remove the ink, and made sure the ink can’t come off easily,” he added.

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