Arya News - Election Commission (EC) Chairman Seri Ramlan Harun said that the EC continues to study the feasibility of electronic voting e-voting in Malaysia.
PETALING JAYA – The Election Commission (EC) will consider expanding the use of a digital voter verification system in future elections if evaluations confirm it improves the voting process.
This follows a pilot run of the Optical Character Recognition – Voter Attendance (OCR-VA) system during the Negri Sembilan state election. The OCR-VA system was deployed across seven polling streams in Ampangan to record voter attendance automatically via MyKad scans.
The system aims to speed up voter verification while enabling real-time turnout monitoring.
“Overall, the system functioned well and successfully recorded voter attendance digitally through MyKad scans,” EC Chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said when contacted.
Ramlan said pilot findings are being refined across technical operations, data security, system integrity and user experience.
An illustration comparing the existing voting process with the OCR-VA system. ILLUSTRATION: THE STAR
“If the evaluation demonstrates that the system adds value to election management, the EC will consider broader implementation.”
Asked whether the technology would be deployed in GE16, Ramlan said it was too early to commit, adding that no decision has been reached for any upcoming polls.
“Should the OCR-VA system be deployed in future state polls such as Melaka or Sarawak, the EC will ensure all stakeholders are thoroughly briefed,” Ramlan said.
During the pilot project at SMA Dato’ Klana Petra Maamor, the system reduced manual steps like searching for names and marking paper electoral rolls.
“However, technical analysis is ongoing to measure exact time savings, staff productivity and overall system effectiveness,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ramlan noted that the EC continues to study the feasibility of electronic voting (e-voting) in Malaysia.
“We are examining international experiences, technological developments, security, integrity and public readiness,” he said, emphasising that public confidence remains paramount.
“E-voting involves critical factors such as cybersecurity, vote confidentiality, infrastructure readiness and potential legislative amendments.”
On digitising overseas postal voting, Ramlan said no decision has been made, though the EC continuously seeks ways to modernise electoral procedures.