After the win, PAS seeks palace intervention

 

  

AT THE HEIGHT of campaigning for the just concluded Sungai Limau by election, PAS had “revealed” numerous “malpractices” and “abuses” allegedly carried out by the Barisan Nasional in wooing voters.

 

“It will definitely be pursued, in parliamentary debate, Bersih election reform, and even though the courts although we don’t put too much hope in the latter”, said Dr Hatta Ramli, PAS elections director. 

 

His colleague, PAS strategist Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad had this to add: It would be important to get the PAC involved as abuses of public funds must seek for accountability. No better place than parliament. This money was never budgeted for. So how did they manage to spend?

 

Off budget or off balance sheet spending again. For Sungai Limau, allocated RM15 million. That’s abuse of public fund”.

 

Hard words indeed. And that’s not all. On the eve of polling, PAS information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man issued a statement hitting out at the Election Commission (EC) and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for being “dead wood” in “allowing widespread corruption in Sungai Limau.”    

 

Tuan Man alleged that handouts in cash and in kind were handed out “openly by government leaders as well as the usage of almost the entire government machinery” – adding on sarcastically, “except for the Meteorological Department which was not seen”. 

 

“MACC which is supposed to be an anti-corruption agency and the police stood still and became observers”, said Tuan Ibrahim, going on to say: “We keep hearing stupid excuses like the handouts were not given by the calon or wakil calon so it is not rasuah”. 

 

According to Hatta the “abuses” have been highlighted and “the authorities including the EC are in the know and the rakyat have been informed’.

 

But said Dzulkefly, “Umno callous disregard for the law, yet the EC continue to do nothing, as the custodian for a free and fair election”.