KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not breach any rules with regards to attire when casting his vote in Pekan, contrary to a viral message claiming otherwise.
A viral message circulated today, showing an image of Najib in a blue shirt casting his ballot paper. The social media commenter claimed that Najib was wearing a Barisan Nasional shirt in the polling centre, which would be a breach of election regulations.
However, upon closer examination, the shirt only bore a 1Malaysia logo, and not Barisan Nasional’s.
The Election Commission (EC) in a previous statement, had clarified that only shirts bearing any party’s logo and candidates’ names are not allowed.
Its chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah had said that the EC would never prevent a voter from entering the polling station so long as he or she did not violate Section 26 (1) (g) of the Election Offences Act 1954.
The Act, he said, provides that a voter is prohibited from entering the polling station on polling day if they are dressed in any clothes or carry equipment that displays names of candidates, political party symbols or logos.
“The EC advises the public to be careful and to verify unauthorised information related to the General Election that is spread through social media.
“The people are asked to refer directly to the EC to get valid and accurate information by calling 03-88927018,” he said.