In Galas, Ku Li unperturbed by vote-buying claims
By Adib Zalkapli, The Malaysian Insider
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has dismissed allegations that the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Galas campaign would bribe voters to win their support here tomorrow.
The BN by-election chief also said the accusation by PAS would not turn the voters against the coalition.
“I have never practised vote-buying,” said the Kelantan prince popularly known as Ku Li.
Yesterday, PAS election director Datuk Halim Abdul Rahman predicted Ku Li would eventually resort to vote-buying in order to win the November 4 by-election.
Halim claimed the Gua Musang Umno chief would deploy his men to distribute money to voters to prove that he was still an influential leader in the constituency.
PAS had previously pledged not to make personal attacks against Tengku Razaleigh.
Just last week, PAS election campaign advisor Datuk Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah also targeted the veteran politician, saying he was responsible for the Orang Asli’s woes in the vast constituency.
Wan Rahim alleged that Ku Li, who worked with PAS from 1990 to 1996 through the now-defunct Semangat 46, was responsible for Orang Asli affairs.
Ku Li’s return to Umno, which Wan Rahim called a betrayal, was blamed for the Islamist party’s failure to address the Orang Asli problems.
Responding to the accusation, Ku Li described it as a lie and argued that Orang Asli affairs were also handled by the then PAS president, the late Datuk Fadhil Noor.
“They can attack me, what can I do? If it’s not true why should I respond,” Ku Li told reporters.
“Don’t think the voters will be swayed, because the accusation is not true. If there is any truth, I would have responded,” said the Gua Musang MP.
Ku Li also did not appear to be concerned with the high number of Galas voters said to be still undecided.
