Malaysia’s polls close amid fraud claims

 

(Australia News Network) – One man of Filipino descent, with the Sulu surname Kiram, carried an ID card with the number 49 on it, which apparently indicates foreign status. He told opposition representatives that he was issued with the card at the administrative capital Putrajaya. 

Polls have closed in Malaysia amid concerns that electoral fraud could influence the election outcome.

The opposition coalition, led by Anwar Ibrahim, is attempting to unseat the Barisan National (BN), which has held government for more than 50 years.

Lines of up to one kilometre long have been reported as voting got underway on Sunday at more than 8,000 polling sites across the country.

But many voters have accused prime minister Najib Razak’s government of trying to steal the election, as indelible ink that he touted as a guarantee against voter fraud was found to easily wash off.

“I wash it with Dettol and the ink all came off, it should not come off according to the authority,” one voter said.

“It’s not a problem for me, but what I think, there will be a lot of fraud as a result of this removal of the ink.”

Meanwhile, the opposition and democracy activists are claiming they have caught foreigners voting in the election.

They allege the voters are foreign migrant workers who have been issued with Malaysian ID cards – a claim that BN has strongly denied.

One man of Filipino descent, with the Sulu surname Kiram, carried an ID card with the number 49 on it, which apparently indicates foreign status.

He told opposition representatives that he was issued with the card at the administrative capital Putrajaya.

His finger was marked with indelible ink to show that he had in fact voted.

Read more and watch the video at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-05/an-malaysia-polls-closed/4670740