KUALA BESUT The Election Commission (EC) held a demonstration for the Kuala Besut by-election today to prove its claim that the indelible ink to be used is of better quality than the 13th general election';s controversial product .

Several journalists, including Malaysiakini, participated in the demonstration.

“The EC finds that if the indelible ink (stain) is washed, the colour will reappear on the finger,” said EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusuf in a statement distributed after the demonstration.

NONEMalaysiakini journalists attempted to wash off the ink an hour after its application, and found the stain still persisting even  after washing twice with soap.

The ink also darkened after some time.

The demonstration was held at the Land Office at Kuala Besut, where the briefing was done by EC elections academic director Abdullah Jusoh.

The ink used today is in purple colour. The ‘voters’ were asked by the EC officers to dip their left forefingers into the bottle of ink and to hold the ballot paper with their right hand.

‘Ink will reappear on the finger’

Abdul Aziz reminded the voter not to mark the ballot paper with the ink and make sure that there’s no oiliness on the finger before the dipping.

NONE“Once it’s dipped, the indelible ink needs about 30 second to dry,” he said.

Abdul Aziz said that the EC had sent the ink sample to the Chemistry Department to test the contents of the ink.

He also stressed that EC also held discussions with the Health Ministry regarding this matter to make sure that the contents of the ink will not jeopardise the voters’ health.

“The EC had also received a decision from the National Fatwa Council saying that the usage will not violate the syarak law,” he said.

The indelible ink had sparked massive controversies during the 13th general election. Barely hours after the ink was used for the first time in Malaysia during the advance voting, complaints have emerged that the ink is in fact removable.

The date for advance voting for the Kuala Besut by-election is July 20, while polling day is July 24.

BN is fielding engineer Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman to face the challenge from PAS candidate businessman Azlan Yusof.

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