EC says indelible ink won't rub off, police agree

The Election Commission (EC) today rubbished claims by certain quarters that the indelible ink used for the first time in Malaysia for the 13th general election, is in fact delible.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusoof told Malaysian Insider that it is impossible to remove the said ink even with oil-based lubricants such as motor oil.

“Impossible, I do not believe the indelible ink can be removed by any oil-based lubricant... the ink is made from silver nitrate.

“When the ink is put on the fingernail, it will seep into the skin. Even if the stain on the fingernail could be rubbed off, the stain would stay visible on the skin surrounding the nail for seven days,” Abdul Aziz told the online news portal.

Several policemen when contacted confirmed Abdul Aziz’s statement, claiming that the controversial ink does not budge even when rubbed with a stone.

Ampang OCPD Amiruddin Jamaluddin said the ink does not rub off when he took his wuduk for prayers.

“I washed myself to pray and the ink stayed on,” he said.

Kuala Lumpur Narcotics Crime Investigations Department head, ACP Kang Chez Chiang said the ink remained on his finger and would not rub off.

“I don’t think it will rub off easily. Even if it does, those seeped into the nails would remain intact,” he said.

Another police officer who refused to be named said he tried rubbing off the ink with a stone but it did not work.

Meanwhile, Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin lambasted PKR vice-president Tian Chua for claiming that some 20 security personnel had approached him to demonstrate how the ink could be "entirely" removed with hand sanitiser gel.

Khairy, through his twitter account said take Tian Chua’s word with a ‘bucketful’ of salt.

The allegation that the indelible ink is not permanent became rife after PAS’s legal director Zulqarnain Lukman, in a statement said that he had received complaints about the matter.

“It is said that the ink could be removed with soap and water,” he claimed.