EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah said on polling day, EC officers would examine the fingers of voters thoroughly to ensure there were no stains on the finger of voters, or if a “fake finger” was being used.
“Only after it is certain that a voter’s finger is stainless will the finger be dipped in the ink and the voter be given the ballot paper.
“The EC will be more stringent in checking the fingers of each voter to ensure there is no element of fraud.
“Any attempted fraud or attempt to sabotage the electoral system in Malaysia will be dealt with by the law,” The Star Online quoted him as saying.
This follows allegations that “fake fingers” would be imported from China by certain parties to cheat in the upcoming general election.
Hashim said the EC was committed to ensure that the “electoral process is clean and free from such fraud”.
“A Selangor assemblyman had recently claimed that prosthetic fingers have been imported from China by certain quarters to cheat in the next general election.
“A photo of prosthetic fingers next to a bottle of indelible ink has become viral on social media,” Hashim said in his press statement, without identifying the assemblyman.
Hashim said the same image was used in a viral post that was spread in Indonesia, which claimed that the tactic was used in the elections there.
He said the image originally came from a 2013 article on a Japanese website on Yakuza gang members. Gang members used to be punished with their fingers being snipped off.
He said some unscrupulous people had used this same image and spread it on social media to create a negative perception of local elections.