KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — Malaysia does not need indelible ink as it is not a Third World country, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said today.
The Umno secretary-general’s remarks came after a fellow minister revealed to Parliament yesterday that the ink used for the 13th general election did not contain chemicals, but only permitted food colouring.
“Actually, we don’t need indelible ink,” Tengku Adnan (picture), popularly known by his moniker Ku Nan, told reporters at Parliament House here.
“We’re not a Third World country,” said the Putrajaya MP.
He said that the Election Commission (EC) was concerned that putting chemicals in the indelible ink — which is meant to prevent double voting — would harm voters.
“We do something that is good for the people,” said Tengku Adnan.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said in a written reply to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng yesterday that no chemicals were used in the indelible ink; only “approved food colouring”.
EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, however, insisted late yesterday that the ink used in the May 5 general election contained silver nitrate to make it indelible, and not just food dye.
Wan Ahmad told The Malay Mail Online that the EC was currently investigating the levels of silver nitrate used in the ink, which was meant to be four per cent, based on the commission’s agreement with the ink supplier.
The contentious Election 2013 was marred by widespread reports of the indelible ink being rubbed off easily, leading to calls by opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and polls watchdog Bersih for the EC’s top leaders to step down.
