Malaysians for Free and Fair Election (Mafrel) chairman Syed Ibrahim Alhabashi said the EC must work around the danger that an early voting system - also known as advance voting - could compromise the integrity of the voter registration process.

"A policeman, for example, could register with another policeman's identity number. He could also register his identification card number to vote on polling day. So there's a chance there would be double voting," said Syed Ibrahim when contacted today.

The proposed early voting system allows voters to cast their votes before polling day. It is similiar to postal voting, which is currently eligible for police and military personnel, as well as their spouses, students and government officials who are abroad.

Weigh the advantages

EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar was reported as saying yesterday that the commission is studying early voting systems adopted by Thailand and Indonesia.

"The EC has to sort out the voters' registration list. I understand the context of the proposal, which is to get more people to vote, but the EC has to weigh the advantages with the issues surrounding the current system of postal voting," said Syed Ibrahim.

"The secrecy and the integrity of the voters' list must not be compromised to prevent multiple voting incidents," said the Mafrel chief.

The EC also announced that it is considering setting two days prior to polling as a "cool-off" period following complaints that supporters were still soliciting votes and displaying banners during polling day itself.

There are currently 15.5 million Malaysians eligible to vote and 11.1 million registered voters.