It was the Cabinet that did not approve the use of indelible ink during the March 8 election, Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman disclosed Saturday.He said he was told to take responsibility for agreeing to it.
"The Cabinet gave two very strong reasons why they did not agree to it – security and the law - Article 119, concerning the basic right for everyone to vote, and I agreed with them," he said.
It’s not easy being EC chairperson. I took the rap over the years,” Abdul Rashid said, adding that the commission wanted a review of election regulations.
He said that the commission should have a bigger control over the electoral process under Article 113 to Article 120 of the Federal Constitution.
“This would give us power to control abuses. One important aspect that has to be looked into immediately is the registration of electors registration,” Abdul Rashid said after launching the National Seminar on Elections 2008; Democracy at Work.
He said another power lacking in the EC was the power to take court action.
“When people say the wrong things we should be able to sue. A lot of scandalous things have been thrown about, including from the media, the mainstream or alternative media.
“They must be made to pay for the things they say because most of the things they have been saying are not true” he said.
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