GEORGE TOWN - Some election irregularities were reported while Malaysian state polls were under way on Saturday, including popular opposition politician Sanusi Md Nor allegedly showing his marked ballot paper to the media before casting his vote into the ballot box.
His actions are said to have taken place at 11am at a polling centre in Kedah, where he is defending his Jeneri state seat.
Voting has to be secret, and the caretaker Kedah Menteri Besar could be found liable for his actions under the Election Offences Act 1954, which provides for a fine up to RM3,000 (S$884), a maximum jail term of one year, or both.
This is not the first time an election candidate has shown who he voted for.
In the 2013 Kuala Besut by-election in Terengganu, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate, Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman, showed who he had voted for in his ballot paper.
The Election Commission (EC) then rebuked him for his “inappropriate” action, saying that every vote was “secret”.
Separately, Kedah police said it had received three reports of suspected identity theft, where voters claimed their names were used by others to cast votes.
The cases involved one male and two female voters, said Kedah police chief Fisol Salleh.
The cases will be investigated under the Election Offences Act, said Datuk Fisol.
One of the affected victims, Ms Rozana Mokhtar, 35, said she was shocked when she was told she had already voted after arriving at her designated polling centre in the morning to cast her vote.
“I asked help from the EC worker on duty and was shocked to find out that my name had already been crossed out,” Malay-language daily Sinar Harian quoted her as saying.
“I was told that someone else had used my identification card to vote at the Lunas state constituency.”
In neighbouring Penang, polling at a voting centre on the island was partially suspended when a ballot box was found unsealed.
Some 177 voters had already cast their votes when opposition Perikatan Nasional candidate Ooi Ghee Oon detected the issue.
He then requested that the EC suspend voting for the ballot box, which was slated for 719 voters.
Mr Ooi said he would not consider any of the ballots in that box to be valid.
The Star reported that the seal was left on the table next to the ballot box.
The EC has said it is investigating, but it is not known whether the earlier votes will be invalidated.
Mr Ooi later lodged a police report and revealed that there was another incident involving an unsealed ballot box – one without the EC logo – at another voting centre.
For the second incident, he said EC officials immediately affixed the sticker and sealed up the ballot box with a piece of string, which he said was not foolproof as “anyone could open and close the ballot box any time”.
