Stop the intimidation, PKR tells police

Authorities ticked off for unnecessarily taking mugshots of those lodging reports against the EC.

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR today urged the police to stop intimidating those who lodge police reports against the Election Commission on the indelible ink and phantom voters.

PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar said: “I have received complaints from those who lodged police reports against the EC that they had their photographs taken after lodging their respective police reports.”

“Those who lodged police reports at the Gombak police headquarters had their faces and left index fingers photographed while at the Ulu Kelang police station, they had their mugshots taken.

“As a law practitioner, I find it unusual and strange. It is not standard procedure to take photographs of those lodging complaints as they are not criminals. It is totally unnecessary.

“Pictures are only taken when the person involved is a criminal. These people are not, and instead they have now become the victims,” said Shamsul, who is also the MP for Bukit Katil.

Shamsul added that those who lodged reports were asked repeatedly by the police officers who had asked them to lodge the reports and whether they are being used by certain parties to make the reports.

“This must be stopped. This is a typical scare tactic employed so that if word spreads, voters would be reluctant and scared to make police reports.

“The home minister (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) should conduct an investigation into this and I also challenge the Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar to explain,” he said.

When asked on the delay in lodging a police report on the indelible ink issue, a voter who declined to be named, said that she decided to make the report only now as it has become a national issue.

“When the ink initially got washed off, I just thought that it must have been simply because they forgot to shake the bottle, but it is obvious now how the EC is cheating.

“I also lodged another police report after I found out that an unknown man was registered as a voter with my home address.

“Only my husband, daughter and I reside at the address. How come there’s an unknown man registered to my address?” asked the 65-year-old woman.

“I felt it is high time my husband and I lodged a police report against the EC,” she added. “All members of the EC should resign or the same thing is likely to happen in the coming elections.”