Government may rethink indelible ink, opt for biometrics

(Bernama) – The government is prepared to consider the suggestion to scrap the indelible ink and replace it with a biometric system for the next general election, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.

He said the proposal to use the indelible ink came from the opposition, namely Gombak member of parliament Mohamed Azmin Ali, in the Special Select Committee on Electoral Reforms and was implemented by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in the 13th general election (GE13); however, its implementation later was disputed by the opposition.

“We just followed, whereas the EC (Election Commission) had suggested the biometric so that the thumb print is used where there is no escape,” Shahidan said when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill (2012) 2013 at the committee stage at the Dewan Rakyat sitting in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said the biometric suggestion “is the best” and that they would definitely be discussing the matter.

Tan Sri Annuar Musa (BN-Ketereh), when suggesting the scrapping of the indelible ink, said the issue and polemic on the use of the indelible ink has been prolonged because the party that lost in the general election had to find a reason for their defeat.

Referring to the biometric system, Annuar said Malaysia has a comprehensive registration system based on the identity card which has strict security features.

“We have a very good system already, but we gave way on the question of the indelible ink. We adopted the indelible ink, but then there were people who expressed doubt on the validity of their ablution,” he said.