GE15: No need to worry about safety of phone when casting vote - Experts

SHAH ALAM - There is no need to worry about the safety of the phones surrendered at the polling stations while casting votes in the 15th General Election (GE15), experts tell voters.

Malaysia Cyber Consumer Association (MCCA) advisor Datuk Ahmad Noordin Ismail said the banning of phones in the voting booth was to uphold secrecy of the ballot.

He said voters who were worried that their phones might get hacked could turn off their phones.

“It is the Election Commission’s (EC) decision and it is the law.

“If they (voters) bring their phones inside the voting booth, it can cause slander, or defamation.

“If you do not want the volunteer to do anything, you can switch off your phone and put it in a ziplock bag so that everyone can see that you are not using your phone,” he said.

He was commenting on a recent viral tweet about sticking adhesive tapes over the phone’s USB port to ensure that the phones surrendered at the polling station would not be hacked.

Meanwhile, cybersecurity expert Dr Zarina Shukur said the EC’s decision to ban mobile phones during the voting process was the right move.

This, she said was as a precaution so that the voters’ vote would not be revealed to the public.

“New voters tend to be excited due to the new experience. The EC has the power to execute this rule,” she said.

Zarina said the commission should also spread awareness regarding the voting process and collaborate with Malaysia’s cybersecurity experts to assure the public of their phone’s safety during the voting process.

Recently, EC revealed that the sixth step of the polling process was to surrender mobile phones to the presiding officer before casting votes.

This has caused voters to be worried about the safety of their phones.