KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN women have been told to remove their nail polish on election day March 8 or face having it stripped off by election officials, a report said.

Election Commission secretary Kamaruzaman Mohamad Noor said nails must be clean so that ballot workers can apply indelible ink on the right index finger to indicate a vote has been cast.

'Just for that one day, we need you to keep your fingers free of nail polish,' he said, explaining the new security measure in the New Straits Times on Friday.

Malaysia is also introducing transparent ballot boxes, in a response to allegations that past elections have been marred by fraud including electoral roll irregularities and postal vote manipulation. -- AFP