Initial police investigations so pointed to a strong possibility that reports made on the smuggling of election indelible ink were true that this prompted Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to alert the Election Commission of a potential fraud and chaos in balloting.
"The indications are strong enough to warrant me to file the report," he said after a briefing on the elections at the Pahang police headquarters here. "It could potentially lead to trouble on polling day if nothing was done about it.”

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman had announced that indelible ink will not be used on polling day as security of the method of preventing multiple voting had been breached.

The decision was made after four police reports were lodged on the smuggling of the ink, two in Perlis and one each in Kedah and Kelantan.

Musa said investigations indicated that the smuggled ink was intended to be applied by deceit on voters, especially in rural areas to either prevent them from voting or create chaos at the polling centre.
Statements of those who lodged reports had been taken but no arrest has been made nor any of the smuggled ink found.

Musa brushed aside accusations that police had conspired with the EC and Barisan Nasional in a ploy to revoke the earlier plan of using the ink.

"There is no reason whatsoever for us to come up with a ploy," he said. "We investigate all reports, including those made by the opposition."

Meanwhile, in KOTA BARU, Kelantan Pas leaders in reacted with anger and disbelief to news and their first response was to appeal to supporters to not overreact.

They characterised the EC's decision as "anti-democratic” but two Pas leaders here said the party remained in high spirits and was ready to defend an already strong assault by the Barisan Nasional to recapture Kelantan.

Menteri Besar and Pas spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat went as far as to accuse the Election Commission of backing certain parties to allow their supporters to vote more than once.

"They want their voters to cast their ballots twice, 10, 15 times...that is why they cancelled it (use of ink). This is extremely disappointing."

He accused the EC of not being transparent and not having the will to curb electoral cheating.

Nik Aziz urged Pas supporters to accept the decision calmly and not to be react by taking their anger to the streets.

"Stay calm, stay out of trouble. If there is (trouble), they are not caused by our (Pas) supporters," he told reporters after receiving the "Anugerah Amanah Gerak" award by anti-corruption non-governmental organisation Gerak at his office here. The award honours him as Malaysia's most responsible and trustworthy political leader.

Pas vice-president Datuk Husam Musa also appealed to Pas supporters not to overreact.

"I have stressed to our supporters to remain calm and not resort to anything that can trigger untoward incident,” he said.

Husam also said the decision was a move backward for democracy, saying that the use of indelible ink was a tried and tested method in other countries.

In JITRA, Adib Povera reports that Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharom had advised all political parties and their supporters not to create trouble but respect the EC's decision.

He warned them against making speculating on the issue as this could create unnecessary problems that could lead to chaos.

Johari was speaking after meeting padi farmers affected by the floods last December.

Johari, who is defending his Kubang Pasu parliamentary seat, defended the EC's decision.

"Commission members must have given the matter a thorough thought before coming to their decision," he said. "The commission has successfully organised 11 general elections in the past. I believe the commission has made the right decision to avoid any untoward incident."

In PENANG, Melissa Darlyne Chow and Phuah Ken Lin reports that the EC's decision Commission's decision has drawn flak from Gerakan and the DAP.

Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said it was "not good" for the EC to cancel usage of indelible ink so close to polling day.

"It might affect the perception of voters about the EC,” he said. "However, I don't think it will cause that much damage.”

DAP chairman Karpal Singh called on the EC to use the indelible ink in states where there had been no reports of plans to sabotage the election process. Police had said only three states - Kedah, Perlis and Kelantan, were involved.

"The police reports indicated that the indelible ink is being brought from a neighbouring country for use on unsuspecting voters before they even get to vote,” he said. "They said only three states are involved. There is no reason why it should not be implemented in the other states," he said.

Karpal said it was the EC that had conceived the idea to show balloting transparency. “It is too late for the EC to turn back on what it has proposed just because of the police reports lodged,” he added.

source: The New Straits Times