No MyKad when voting? No problem, says EC
Bernama | May 5, 2018
Driving licence or passport can also be used to verify voter's identity, says the Election Commission.
Election Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah.
KUALA LUMPUR: Voters who lost their identity cards (MyKad) can still vote by bringing along a copy of the report on the loss of their identification document for verification on polling day, said Election Commission (EC) chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah.
He said voters could also bring their driving licence, limited-validity or international passports which contained their name, identity card number and their picture.
Hashim said nothing can prevent a citizen from voting.
“Everyone’s vote is secret and nobody will know, except the voters themselves, unless the voter himself tells others,” he told Bernama recently.
On concerns that the serial number of the ballot papers could be used to identify them, Hashim said there was no need to worry because everybody’s vote would remain a secret.
He said the serial number was printed to facilitate the EC officer to check and count the number of ballot papers, and not to identify voters.
“On the ballot papers, there are no serial numbers and for the public’s information, after the ballot counting and the results are announced, the ballot papers are kept in a safe place for 21 days in case there are parties petitioning for a recount,” he said.
He said the ballot papers would then be destroyed, witnessed by various parties.
On the calls to spoil votes, Hashim said people should realise that their vote was valuable and their right as a voter could only be exercised once in five years.
Meanwhile, he said, employers who refused to allow their workers to go to the polls could be fined RM5,000 or sent to jail for a year, as provided under Section 25 of the Elections Act 1958.
Employers cannot penalise an employee by deducting his/her salary or wage, or impose any action on him/ her for not turning up for duty during the period, he added.
