‘VVIPs’ backing gangs harassing voters, say cops

File photo of policemen looking for clues at a BN operations centre in Batu Gajah which was hit by a petrol bomb last week.KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — “Very, very important people” have been identified as supporting gangs that have been harassing potential voters to bully them to cast their ballots for certain political parties on Polling Day this Sunday, Bukit Aman said today.

The federal police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has called in several of these socially influential people, better known as “VVIPs”, for questioning, but did not disclose their names.

“If such acts persist, we will detain the ones responsible for strong-arming and threatening the people,” its chief, Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin (picture), was quoted by The Star online daily as telling a news conference here.

The Bukit Aman CID director said police intelligence found the gangs were targeting not just those attending the public ceramah sessions but were even going house-to-house to intimidate potential voters ahead of the May 5 polls.

“We will not tolerate such a clear violation of the law,” he reportedly said, adding that the police had set up a task force to monitor election-related crimes, especially acts of gangsterism.

Bukit Aman has also uncovered a case of men who had impersonated Election Commission officers in Batu Pahat last night who attempted to stop certain parties from holding their ceramah.

“These men were preventing certain parties from having ceramah.

“We will investigate further to identify the suspects,” Asst Comm Ramli Mohamed Yusof, the assistant head of public relations from the Inspector-General of Police’s secretariat, was quoted as saying, adding that the incident was being investigated under section 107 of the Penal Code.

A total of 3,079 cases have been recorded since Nomination Day on April 20 when formal campaigning for the elections kicked off, resulting in 101 arrests and 20 charges for various election offences.

“Most of the cases involve sabotage, including arson as well as damaging flags and banners,” Mohd Bakri said, including 86 cases of unlicensed ceramahs.

He gave an assurance that the police have sufficient manpower to ensure polling on Sunday would be smooth and peaceful.

Attacks have surged against party workers, supporters and web-based media reporting on the general election, and are threatening the democratic right of its citizens to vote, an international human rights organisation said today.

Human Rights Watch urged leaders from both sides of the political divide to rein in their supporters and the police to investigate the bullying and fear-mongering tactics fully and with impartiality even though it acknowledged that calls from both pacts have so far failed to curb the violence.

“Election violence threatens the right of all Malaysians to vote for the party of their choice,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. 

Party workers have been beaten while putting up party flags, a petrol bomb was thrown into the house compound of the daughter of Dr Xavier Jayakumar, the PKR candidate for the Sri Andalas state seat last week, setting her car on fire, and caretaker Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng reportedly filed a police report last Thursday over a text message he received that threatened death against his wife and son if he was re-appointed chief minister.

An explosive device went off at Barisan Nasional’s (BN) ceramah in Jawi, Penang last week, injuring one man while petrol bombs have also been lobbed at their operations centres in Penang, Selangor and Kedah last week.

Online media such as Malaysiakini and three London-based radio web portals, Radio Free Malaysia, Radio Free Sarawak and Sarawak Report, that have regularly been critical of the federal and Sarawak state governments have had their service crippled by distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks, the human rights watchdog noted.

Some 13.3 million Malaysians qualify to vote on Sunday for the 222 federal and 505 state seats in what is touted to be the stiffest race to form the next government.