KOTA KINABALU:
The President of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee has described the sudden decision by the Election Commission (EC) in cancelling the use of indelible ink in the general election as a surprise. He said all the party’s polling agents and workers had been briefed on the ink procedures. “Also, the people would be speculating why the EC did not do its homework thoroughly,” said Yong yesterday. Daniel John Jambun, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate for the Inanam state seat, is also unhappy with the drastic move by the EC, especially so when it was made a few days before polling. It would allow the ‘phantom voters’ to cast their votes twice on polling day, he alleged. The Consumer Association for Sabah and Labuan (CASH) President Datuk Patrick Sindu, who is contesting the Papar parliamentary seat as independent, also took the EC to task for the eleventh hour cancellation of the use of indelible ink. ‘From the beginning, the EC’s election process is already in topsy-turvy ... they said the electoral rolls are already clean but the names bf persons who had died a very long time ago still remain in the rolls. And, now they cancelled the use of indelible ink just before the polling day. “In fact it has come to my knowledge about the availability of liquid that could erase the indelible ink after it was applied on the voter’s finger,” he said, adding that all the mess would not have occurred if the EC had thoroughly carried out their homework. “Nevertheless, to me whether the EC is using the indelible ink or not, it is irrelevant. The most important thing is that the elections must be clean and fair,” said Patrick, stressing the need for the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) to monitor the campaign and election process. He alleged that it was wrong for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) to utilize Government facilities such as schools and vehicles in carrying out their campaign activities.
