SIBU: The Election commission (EC) should ban cameras and handphones in voting centres to prevent vote-buying by candidates and political parties.
Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) chief Voon Lee Shan said vote-buying by using a camera or a smartphone is a simple process.
“The candidate who wants to buy votes may offer the voter a certain amount of money, say RM200 or more in return for a vote. A payment in advance may be made by the candidate or party before voting and the balance be collected by the voter after the voting process.
“To claim the balance, the voter may be required to show proof that he had voted for the candidate or party that gave him the bribe.
“Proof is done by the voter showing the photo taken of the ballot paper with his or her camera or smartphone after voting made, but before the ballot paper has been thrown into the ballot box by the voter,” he said in a statement today.
Voon pointed out that to some voters a sum of RM200 could be a big deal, especially during the current economic downturn.
“One cannot discount such a tactic was used during the last elections,” he said.
He also urged the EC to equip its security personnel with metal detectors for weapons being carried into voting centres and the voters who came to vote should be bodily checked for weapons.
“One should not discount the possibility of individuals or extremist groups causing security problems to voters or workers during elections.
“The fatal shooting of an ex-prime minister recently in Japan during elections campaign should be an eyeopener for us to be more security conscious during elections time,” he said.
