Racial billboards in Sekinchan by DAP, Amanah admits

© Provided by Malay Mail Online Ng Suee Lim claims this poster featuring BN candidate Budiman is posted illegally on DAP’s billboard stand in Sekinchan, Selangor June 9, 2016. ― Picture by A. RubanSABAK BERNAM, June 9 ― Parti Amanah Negara communications director Khalid Samad confessed today that several provocative posters depicting racial slurs by political foes in the Barisan Nasional (BN) found in Sekinchan were put up by its Pakatan Harapan ally, DAP.

The Shah Alam MP claimed to have no knowledge of the fact when he denied the smear campaign was an act by the Pakatan Harapan pact yesterday.

“I was not lying yesterday... I just didn't know then.

“Only this morning DAP told me, and we had a meeting to ensure that our campaigning strategy is standardised,” Khalid told a news conference in Sekinchan that was also attended by Selangor DAP chief Tony Pua and Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim.

The posters featured the Malay words “Panggil Cina babi tidak salah” (Not wrong to call Chinese pigs) that were allegedly made by Sungai Besar Umno chief Datuk Jamal Yunos as well as “BN PAS sehati sejiwa, rasis rasuah sama sekali” (BN and PAS are of one soul, together in racism and corruption). In it, voters were asked to choose Amanah in the June 18 Sungai Besar by-election.

The controversial posters were removed by Election Commission officers at 5pm yesterday.

A check on the same billboard stand by Malay Mail Online later showed a new poster depicting Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Sungai Besar, Budiman Mohd Zohdi.

Khalid admitted that the poster placement by its DAP ally showed a lack of coordination among the Pakatan Harapan pact.

“Yes, yes… but they have explained to us and it won't happen again,” he said.

But he refused to apologise when asked if he would do so given that the posters targeted election rivals BN and PAS.

“Why should I? We have decided not to put up anymore of such posters and that is good enough,” he said.

Khalid claimed that the ethnic Chinese community were unhappy with the BN and resorted to putting up the racially disparaging posters to show their sentiment.

“The Teoh Chew people here are just not happy with BN and that is why they did something like this,” he said.

Both Pua and Ng were mostly silent while Khalid was taking questions from reporters on the issue.

Ng later described the replacement of the provocative poster on DAP’s billboard stands with one featuring Budiman as a “robbery”.

“That is our billboard stands and they have robbed us so we will lodge a report to the Election Commission,” he said.

The Sungai Besar by-election is a three-way fight involving BN’s Budiman, PAS’s Dr Abdul Rani Osman and Amanah’s Azhar Shukur.