Election ink causes health problems: Study

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta

An independent investigation revealed on Thursday that the indelible ink used to mark the fingers of voters during the general election on April 5 could cause skin infections and even trigger cancer.

"We have found some people suffering from skin infections in Dadap hamlet, Rawa Buntu village in Serpong, Banten province after they tried to draw imitation tattoos using the ink," Indonesian Procurement Watch (IPW) investigative director Hayie Muhammad said.

A Dadap resident, Juhana, told the team that even though he and his friends had not used needles when "tattooing" each other, some of them suffered from itching and a burning sensation that lasted for 20 days, Hayie said.

Juhana said that he and his friends had a lot of fun with the ink after being informed that it would not wash off for several days.

Hayie went on to say that the IPW had also brought the indelible ink to the Polymer Technology Center (STP) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) for laboratory tests, which revealed that it contained a prohibited colorant, crystal violet.

He said the United Nations had long prohibited the use of crystal violet. The colorant had also been banned in Singapore in 1992 and Malaysia in 1998. "Such a mistake reflects the KPU's lack of regard for the health of people in this country," he said.

Therefore, he demanded that the General Elections Commission (KPU) withdraw the remaining stocks of indelible ink from almost 600,000 polling stations across the country.

Every polling station was given two bottles of indelible ink to ensure enough ink for over 147 million voters, but many polling stations only used one bottle.

"We want the KPU to use safe indelible ink in the upcoming presidential election; we could use the sort of ink they used in South Africa," Hayie said.

He also called on the KPU to compensate the Banten villagers.

Indonesia will hold a direct presidential election on July 5. So far, the KPU has not announced any plans to change the type of indelible ink that it uses.