Credit : Eizairi Shamsudin/Harian Metro
MELAKA, November 10, 2026 – The Election Commission (EC) is working with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and other relevant authorities to protect its systems following an alleged cyberattack on its official website during the 16th Melaka state election.
EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said the commission had yet to receive a full report on the incident and would issue an official statement on the matter soon.
“I have yet to receive the full report. God willing, the EC will issue an official statement on the matter soon,” he told reporters after observing the early voting process at Kem Terendak in Sungai Udang today, as quoted by The Star.
According to RTM, the alleged attack on the EC website was believed to have taken place early this morning. Free Malaysia Today reported that an EC live broadcast on social media had earlier informed the public that its website was believed to be facing the threat of a cyberattack.
Ramlan said the website played a crucial role in the smooth conduct of the election, and expressed hope that it would not be affected. “We hope the cyberattack will not affect our website, as it is crucial to the conduct of the election,” he was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying.
He said the EC had been working with all the relevant authorities to ensure its systems remained secure against any attempt at intrusion. “We have been working with all the relevant authorities to ensure this does not happen,” he said, adding “Insya-Allah” (God willing).
Asked whether the commission would lodge a report with MCMC, Ramlan said cooperation with the relevant agencies was already under way. “We are already working together and taking steps to protect our systems from intrusion,” he said. Free Malaysia Today reported him as saying that a report on the matter had been made to the relevant parties as an early step to ensure the EC’s systems stayed protected.
The issue arose on the day of early voting for the Melaka state election. A total of 12,531 security personnel and their spouses, comprising 9,769 military personnel and their spouses and 2,762 police personnel, are eligible to vote early at 31 polling centres involving 50 polling streams across the state. The centres close in stages at 12 noon, 2pm and 5pm today.
Ramlan said that as of 10.35am, 53.25 per cent, or 5,286 early voters, had cast their ballots, and that the EC was hoping turnout for early voting would reach 95 per cent by the close of polling.
He also said the EC had received 237 reports of election offences since the campaign began after nomination on October 31, 2026, most of them minor breaches of election regulations involving party flags and campaign materials, with no major incidents reported. He urged all parties to keep campaigning responsibly and in an orderly manner.
A total of 687,697 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the Melaka state election, in which 79 candidates are contesting for the 28 seats in the Melaka State Legislative Assembly. Polling day is Saturday, November 14, 2026.
The EC has not yet given details of the nature or scale of the alleged attack, or whether any of its online services were disrupted. LNA will update this story when the commission’s official statement is issued.
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