KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — An Air Force flight sergeant has been demoted for blowing the whistle on weaknesses with the indelible ink used in Election 2013 together with Major Zaidi Ahmad, shortly after the latter was sacked from the military.
Jamal Ibrahim was demoted on January 20 one rank from flight sergeant (FSjn) to air sergeant (Sjn U), according to former air force Major Zaidi.
“The prayers of those who have been oppressed will not be blocked from God,” Jamal said in a text message to Zaidi, who revealed the message to Malay Mail Online today.
The military court found Zaidi guilty of two charges — publishing an article without the consent of the Defence Ministry, as well as revealing the contents of official documents on the indelible ink without authorisation from the Malaysian Armed Forces Council — on January 12.
The court martial decided to dismiss the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) officer from his 26 years of service over his breach of military protocol, but said the sentence must be first confirmed by a confirming officer.
News portal Malaysiakini reported yesterday Zaidi as saying that his January salary was deposited into his account on January 22, but it was removed on the same day, despite having yet to receive an official letter on his sacking.
Indelible ink was introduced in Election 2013 as one of the main safeguards against repeat voting, but the scandal surrounding its easy removal transformed it into a symbol of the widespread electoral fraud allegedly perpetrated to keep Barisan Nasional in power.
