EC: We'll shake it every two hours

The Election Commission (EC) will shake the indelible ink bottles which are to be used on Election Day every two hours to ensure the content does not settle and alter the smears on voters’ fingers.

EC secretary Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria said the bottles will be shaken so that the entire content is mixed well.

“Before the bottles’ caps are opened, the bottles will be shaken for 30 seconds and after that, it will be shaken again every two hours so that the content does not settle,” he said at a public demonstration to prove that ink is lasting, at the EC office here.

The bottles, if not shaken, will leave only the watery substance floating on top of the ink ingredients.

“This will enable the ink to be washed of easily by the voters,” he said.

During the demonstration, a handful of EC officers and reporters who have already cast postal votes volunteered for the ink to be applied onto their fingers.

The bottles are shaken before being applied to the volunteers’ index fingers, on the top and bottom upper part.

Among the reporters who volunteered include Sinar Harian’s Muhammad Shamsul Abd Ghani and Astro Awani’s Aizat Sharif.

They were then asked to wash the inked finger with soap, vinegar, iodine and oil-based medication.

The ink stayed on despite the washings and is ecpected to stay on for at least seven days.