Who is Mohamed Salleh?

The search for Mohamed Salleh Mohamed Ali has begun, triggered by being named in Parliament by the Opposition as the supplier of the controversial indelible ink that was used in GE13.

So far, this is what checks have revealed: he is a 47-year-old businessman who runs a company, Integrated Challenger (M) Sdn Bhd in Shah Alam. There was no response when telephone calls were made to the office yesterday evening.

Checks showed that Mohamed Salleh has 11 unsettled speeding tickets from 2011 and the vehicles driven at the time of the offences were a Porsche Cayenne and a Toyota Alphard.

This obscure businessman gained immediate fame yesterday after Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli told Parliament that he was the supplier of the indelible ink. PKR's director of strategy also alleged that Mohamed Salleh was linked to the country's leadership and top officials of the Election Commission.

Three weeks ago, Rafizi challenged the EC to reveal the supplier of the indelible ink, failing which he promised to do in Parliament.

He said yesterday that his investigations revealed that the contract for the supply of the ink was awarded to a company whose owner had no expertise in the matter.

Also, the company did not have the capital for the job and the owner asked a Kampung Baru businessman for a RM7 million loan. The ink became the subject of much controversy after voters said that it was easily washed off with soap. The EC had promised that the ink would stay on for up to seven days.

Pakatan Rakyat said that because of the systemic failure of the ink, many voters could vote more than once, thereby committing fraud. The Opposition pact has filed a suit asking the High Court to nullify GE13 results and order fresh polls on the grounds of EC's fraudulent use of the ink.

Bersih co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan last night said the allegation that the supplier was linked to the EC leadership required a thorough investigation.

"I am shocked by this revelation. It adds to the suspicion that they had previously refused to divulge the name of the supplier," she said, adding that it cast more doubts on the EC's ability to carry out clean and fair elections.

This latest controversy over the ink supplier makes it all the more necessary for an independent panel to investigate the issue of the ink, she said.

Earlier yesterday, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof denied having any ties with Mohamed Salleh, adding that the party involved in purchasing the ink was commission secretary Datuk Kamarudin Baria.

"He (Kamarudin) should know the details while my deputy and myself are not aware of this," said Abdul Aziz.