Supporters who remove or damage the campaign materials of rival parties could have their names struck off the electoral roll for five years, warned Election Commission (EC) secretary Wan Ahmad Wan Omar today.

He said under the Election Offences Act 1954, it was an offence to damage campaign materials of a candidate and prevent him from campaigning.

"The campaign materials include flags, banners or posters of a candidate, and no one can remove the campaign materials of another party because it is wrong," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

The EC official was responding to an incident last Saturday where two opposition supporters had reportedly removed Barisan Nasional (BN) flags and banners in the Serdang parliamentary constituency.

Wan Ahmad said anyone who had been declared as a candidate had the right and was allowed under the law to carry out his campaign.

He said that if there were cases of campaign material being damaged, they should be reported to the police so that action can be taken against those responsible.

On another matter, he reminded candidates that they had until midnight tomorrow to withdraw from contest, failing which their names will be printed on the ballot papers.

Following amendments to the EC guidelines, candidates are now allowed to withdraw from contest within a period of three days from nomination day.

Wan Ahmad said a candidate wishing to withdraw from contest should fill, sign and submit Form 6 for parliament or Form 6A for state in person to the Returning Officer to confirm his decision.

Election ticket

In an unrelated development, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is offering Malaysian citizens living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a chance to participate in the 11th general election.

MAS said it had introduced a concessional air ticket for the Dubai-Kuala Lumpur return journey for Malaysians to allow them to cast their votes on polling day.

The return ticket would cost 1,400 dirhams (about RM1,400) and would be valid for 10 days from the day of journey out of Dubai, MAS regional general manager Tuan Ibrahim Tengku Abdullah told Bernama .

He said that MAS was offering the election-special ticket as a duty towards the citizens so that they could take part in the national democratic exercise.

Some 1,000 Malaysians live in the UAE and work for both local companies and Malaysian organisations.