'Bombs meant to hinder rakyat's mood for change?'

PKR candidate for Sungai Acheh Chegubard has questioned if the recent bomb attacks against BN election centres were a “new tactic” to actually scare the public away from the campaign for change.

Chegubard, whose real name is Badrul Hisham Shaharin, said that the attendance of extraordinarily large number of people at most Pakatan Rakyat ceramah could be a factor as this encourages the dissemination of information.

“It cannot be denied that information has also become the main weapon for Pakatan’s victory (in the general election). Without these information, it will be easier for BN to monopolise the rakyat’s thinking through the mainstream media.

“The tactic of sending gangsters to the ceramah site is no longer having any effect on reducing people’s attendance. Is bomb explosions a new tactic?” he queried in a statement today.

The Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) chief also lambasted those who sought to take advantage of the situation to paint Pakatan Rakyat in a bad light by trying to associate the opposition coalition with the attacks.

He reflected that the attacks were reminiscent of similar incidents which occurred during the Permatang Pauh by-election in 2008, when an explosive was supposedly found at a BN centre, andexplosions in front of the Kuala Lumpur court complex last year (above) when people were celebrating Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’sacquittal from a sodomy charge.

“Hence, I do not reject the possibility that the explosion at Nibong Tebal was engineered to upset the rakyat’s mood. Besides, this is ‘their’ skill,” he added without alluding to whom he was referring to.

Matter viewed seriously

However, he stressed that he views the matter seriously and with just 10 days more to go before the nation goes to polls, urged the police to investigate the attacks expeditiously.

The call was supported by Political Studies for Change (KPRU), which issued a statement denoucing the attack in Penang, which it said was “to cause provocation and building a climate of fear in this run up to the 13th general election”.

The think tank pointed out this was not the first such act of election-related violence to be perpetrated and warned that the acts could become more violent the closer the country edge’s to the election, particularly during political speeches.

In the Nibong Tebal incident yesterday, Penang police found two "improvised explosive devices" at a BN ceramah in Nibong Tebal last night.

One of the devices exploded at 10.15pm, injuring a party worker while the second one was found and detonated by police.

Also yesterday, a petrol bomb was hurled at a BN operations centre in Parit 9, Sungai Leman in Selangor causing the building to catch fire.

The most recent reportedly attack took place today when a molotov cocktail was hurled into a BN operations centre near Buntong in Ipoh at 5am, partly damaging a flag.