Law professor accuses #UndiRosak promoters of violating election laws

A LAW professor says promoters of the #UndiRosak campaign on social media have not only violated the Election Offences Act 1954, but they may also be committing an offence under the Sedition Act as well as the Communications and Multimedia Act.
National Council of Professors' Politics, Security and International Affairs Cluster secretary Prof Datuk Abdul Halim Sidek, pointed out that any campaign, lecture or talk that encourage people not to vote or to spoil their votes is against the law and is a criminal offence.
Abdul Halim, who is University of Kuala Lumpur's law professor, told Sin Chew Daily in a report published today that anyone committing such an act could be charged under the Sedition Act.
He said no one is allowed to destroy or deface a ballot, unless a voter makes a mistake such as marking too small a cross or too big a cross, resulting in extending out of the box, in which case the returning officer and representatives of the candidates will decide whether the ballot should be declared void.
"If (you) campaign via social media for people to cast spoilt votes, or spread inappropriate content online, (you) could be committing an offence under the Communications and Multimedia Act," he said.
As for the Election Offences Act 1954, anyone who causes undesirable influence on a voter in polling is committing an offence that can lend the offender a prison term of not more than two years and a fine of between RM1,000 and RM5,000.