PENAMPANG: The Election Commission (EC) has taken measures to ensure that the 1,088,711-strong Sabah electorate can carry out their civic duty in a safe environment in tomorrow's state election – despite the raging Covid-19 outbreak.
The assurance was made following concerns that the use of indelible ink might cause the spread of Covid-19.
EC chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh said staff on duty on Saturday will ensure that the hands of every voter are sanitised prior to having their finger dipped into the electoral ink bottle.
"Staff from the Health Ministry (MoH) will be stationed (at every polling centre) and if a person is suspected (of having Covid-19), he or she will be taken to a designated MoH camp.
"Basically, voters going into respective voting channels are guaranteed to be healthy. We will also take body temperatures, so there should be no problem," he told reporters after inspecting preparations for polling day at the Cultural Centre here, today.
On concerns over phantom voters, Abdul Ghani assured the public that details of all registered voters are based on a list provided by the National Registration Department (NRD).
He said that the EC is tightening control throughout the voting process, and the issue of invisible voters should not arise.
The NRD said yesterday that it is extending its assistance to the commission to help review the validity of voters' identification should anyone turn up with questionable documents.
Speaking on voting preparation, Abdul Ghani expressed satisfaction on the overall process at every constituency.
He noted that the EC will be using 20 helicopters to transport ballot boxes and necessary equipment to areas in the interior, as well as on islands today.
Among the farthest polling centres are SK Salilaran in Nabawan state constituency and Pulau Nibawan within the Sulabayan state constituency.
"The voting process (on Saturday) will end at 5pm and we hope ballot boxes will reach (counting centres) as scheduled.
"Should there be poor weather conditions, we will use alternatives, such as transporting ballot boxes using four-wheel-drive vehicles and boats. Hopefully, we can get the results by 10pm the soonest," he said.
Asked about the issue of vote-buying, Abdul Ghani said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has opened five complaint centres to handle bribery and corruption matters.
Until yesterday, he said 10 reports had been lodged, leading to one arrest.
On candidates undergoing quarantine, Abdul Ghani said the commission has not received full details on the matter.
It was reported that three candidates are undergoing quarantine after they were in close contact with Umno supreme council member Datuk Mohd Razlan Rafii, who recently tested positive for Covid-19.
They are Barisan Nasional candidates Datuk Kamarlin Ombi (Lumadan) and Sani Miasin (Sindumin); as well as Parti Warisan Sabah candidate Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob (Sindumin seat).