Don't trust viral false messages, EC tells voters
KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Bernama) -- The Election Commission today advised voters not to trust or be influenced by the false messages being circulated on social media by certain quarters to confuse them.
EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah said the distribution of false messages in the form of video clips, text and pictures on social media was gaining momentum in the run-up to polling on Wednesday in the 14th general election.
He dismissed a viral message about last Saturday's early-voting ballots having been counted in several parliamentary constituencies, and said that the boxes of ballots were safe in police station lockups.
"These ballots will only be counted from 4 pm on May 9 (polling day). The counting will take place at the EC-designated counting centres in the presence of the candidates or their agents," he said in a statement here.
Mohd Hashim also dismissed a claim that the space after the names of certain candidates in some ballot papers had been rubbed with candle wax to make it difficult for voters to mark them.
He said there had been no such complaints and that the EC staff checked every ballot paper to ensure it was free from any mark such as a black dot.
He also said that voters would have to mark only one space adjacent to any of the candidates' names and make sure that the mark did not cross into the spaces after the names of the other candidates.
"If there is a doubt, the matter will be determined by the polling station presiding officer with the agreement of the counting agents of the candidates," he said.
Mohd Hashim said the EC also dismissed a viral fake message that voters could claim transport charges at the district office by producing their identity card and that the claim was between RM10 and RM1,000.
He advised the people against circulating false messages on social media, saying it could cause confusion and that it was also an offence.
-- BERNAMA
