Saturday, March 15, 2014

SO MUCH FOR BN'S PROMISE OF FAIR POLLS! Anti-Pakatan leaflets start flooding Kajang

Malaysian Chronicle, Friday, 14 March 2014


KAJANG As the Kajang by-election entered its fourth day today, the presence of some BN-friendly and anti-Pakatan leaflets are becoming more prominent in the campaign.

A leaflet titled ‘Selangor Hari Ini’ (Selangor Today) was sighted by Malaysiakini at an Umno operations centre recently.

Another leaflet titled ‘Sate Town’ was distributed during a Mesra Rakyat programme at Taman Kota Cheras Fasa 1, which was attended by over 500 people last night.

Both the leaflets, however, did not have the names of the publisher and printer on them.

The ‘Selangor Hari Ini’ leaflet, which was 16 pages thick, had articles and commentaries running down opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for being “eager” to become the Selangor menteri besar and forcing a by-election.

It also contained quotes attributed to PAS Youth objecting to Anwar’s possible appointment as MB.

The controversy surrounding the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) was also touched upon, followed by a caricature depicting a man stepping on the heads of his three friends in order to get to Putrajaya.

The ‘Sate Town’ leaflet, meanwhile, made comparisons between the by-election candidates, BN’s Chew Mei Fun and PKR’s Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The comparison highlighted the “lies” of Anwar in the past and also his alleged manipulation in coming up with the ‘Kajang Move’.

It listed the seven “failures” of PKR’s former assemblyperson for Kajang, Lee Chin Cheh.

The leaflet even used the lyrics of a song sung by popular dangdut singer Herman Tino to criticise Anwar.

Herman, who contested the Tanjong Karang parliamentary seat in the general elections as an independent and lost his deposit, initially planned to contest the Kajang by-election against Anwar but did not nominate himself.

The by-election attracted many possible independent candidates, including former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim, when it was announced that Anwar would contest the seat in a bid to enter the state legislative assembly.

This was a move to eventually install Anwar as the next MB, but this was soon curtailed when the Court of Appeal found Anwar guilty of sodomy against his former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, last week.

This disqualified Anwar, who is appealing against the decision, from becoming a candidate for the by-election, leading to PKR nominating Anwar’s wife, current PKR president Wan Azizah instead.

Interest of Independents dropped

This eventually dropped the interests of the host of Independent candidates to contest the seat, leaving it to be a straight fight between two women.

Meanwhile, PKR Sri Muda assemblyperson Shuhaimi Shafiei said that a police report will be lodged at 3pm today.

“It is a breach of Section 11(1)(c) of the Election Offences Act as the printer’s name is not disclosed on the materials,” he said.

He said that PKR “agents” had collected the newsletters, leaflets and a booklet collating alleged accounts of Anwar’s “former friends”, at BN operation centres in Sungai Kantan, Saujana Impian, Sungai Sekamat and Sungai Chua.

PKR supporters in the constituency also told the party that they had received the material in their letterboxes last night.

“As the items were found at the BN operations centre, BN is the suspect,” he said, adding that the materials are “libellous”. -Malaysiakini

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