Malaysian election chief`s home vandalised: police

"They used red paint and it was splashed all over the gates. We are still investigating who is behind this," deputy police chief Ismail Omar told AFP after the early-morning attack.

Election Commission chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman triggered an uproar this week by announcing the cancellation of plans to use indelible ink to mark voters' fingers in Saturday's general elections.

Abdul Rashid said authorities had uncovered a plot to sabotage the polls by using smuggled ink to mark unsuspecting voters before they cast their ballot -- an explanation opposition parties dismissed as "ludicrous".

Electoral reform campaigners accused Abdul Rashid of being in league with the ruling coalition and said the decision was a last-minute attempt to keep the polls rigged in the face of an upswell of support for the opposition.

Ismail said police are investigating if the attack on his home was related to the row.

"It could be the reason but ...