KUALA LUMPUR, October 24 2026– The implementation of the Optical Character Recognition-Voters Attendance (OCR-VA) technology is a continuous step by the Election Commission (EC) to modernise the management of elections in Malaysia, in addition to potentially reducing operational costs and saving time.
EC secretary Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus said that the system allows voter attendance to be recorded digitally compared to the manual method used previously, and enables attendance data to be monitored in real time.
“OCR-VA is actually an effort by the Election Commission of Malaysia to modernise the management of elections in Malaysia. Because when we examine the current practices, there are many things we can improve, especially when we look at the challenges of recruiting staff and the rising costs.
“So we believe that OCR-VA, if it is suitable, can have a positive impact in reducing costs and facilitating the overall management of elections in Malaysia,” he said in a recent interview with Bernama.
Khairul Shahril said that the system had been tested at one polling centre during the Negeri Sembilan State Election before this, and now the pilot project will be expanded throughout the state for the Melaka state election.
According to him, the system does not change the election process, including the vote counting process, but only modernises the method of checking and registering voter attendance at polling centres.
“In terms of transparency, we need to remember that OCR-VA is not meant to change the electoral process. Its main purpose is to enable us to record voter attendance more efficiently and systematically.
“Actually, what OCR-VA is doing is the same as what is being practiced in every election, where there are party agents and staff at polling centres who are given voter registration books to check voter attendance. But with OCR-VA, that process has been digitised. In terms of results, that is not the primary objective of this OCR-VA,” he said.
Regarding the aspect of personal data security and integrity, Khairul Shahril also said that the security control of voter information is guaranteed and can be further tightened through electronic processing compared to physical or manual methods.
According to him, considering that OCR-VA is still in the pilot stage, the EC will maintain the use of two systems (OCR-VA and manual) in the Melaka state election until a final decision is made to use it widely.
– BERNAMA
