JOHOR POLLS | Parti Bersama Malaysia’s Johor Jaya seat candidate Lau Yi Leong accused his DAP rival Lee Wern Yiing and the party of hypocrisy, alleging they took a selective stance on the use of government resources during the state polls.
In a statement today, Lau (above) referred to a recent joint press conference by Lee and DAP’s Perling candidate Alan Tee, where the duo alleged that caretaker menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi had misused an Inland Revenue Board (IRB) hall for campaign activities.
The Johor BN chairperson had come under fire following allegations that students from a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) college were compelled to attend a political event last Saturday. Onn has denied forcing attendance.
Lau said that while criticising BN, Lee had conveniently overlooked the actions of Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, whom he claimed had announced a RM1 million allocation to upgrade morning markets just a day before nomination day.
"This is a double standard. When BN used an IRB hall to canvass for votes, Lee erupted in indignation and called a press conference.
“Yet when a DAP minister deployed a federal allocation to boost her campaign, she accepted it wholesale without objection.
"It appears that in DAP's dictionary, whether something amounts to abuse of public assets is measured not by the act itself, but by who commits it. When BN does it, it is called abuse of power; when DAP does it, it is called a caring allocation for the people,” he said.
"I previously issued a press statement stating that such conduct is suspected of contravening Section 10(a) of the Elections Offences Act 1954. To date, no substantive response has been given," Lau added while accusing Lee of keeping mum at the time before positioning herself as a "champion of public-asset integrity”.
While urging the authorities to investigate allegations of students being forced to attend the BN campaign event, he said the same scrutiny should also apply to announcements of government allocations that could benefit prospective candidates before polls.
Lau stressed that the use of government facilities or allocations to help a candidate during an election period undermines the democratic process, regardless of who does it.
Nga recently faced backlash after saying that a Pakatan Harapan victory in the Johor election this Saturday would allow for sweeping change in the state’s 123 Chinese new villages.
This comes amid pressure for DAP to deliver Chinese votes for Harapan - a key factor if the coalition wants a chance at winning the election.
Speaking at a packed ceramah in Jementah, Segamat last Saturday night, Nga said a Harapan win would give DAP the chance to replace all the MCA village chiefs, allowing for smoother progress and development.
Last month, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim defended Nga after the latter was criticised for announcing projects coinciding with the Johor polls.
This was regarding Nga’s announcement just two days before nomination day that Putrajaya has allocated RM216.44 million for housing development, public amenities, and community welfare in Johor.
Last year, Nga pulled off a similar stunt just before the Ayer Kuning by-election, and Anwar likewise defended him.
‘State your stand’
Meanwhile, Lau urged BN’s Johor Jaya candidate Chan San San state her stance over the issue.
"Does she agree with Onn holding an event at an IRB hall during the campaign period and urging attendees to support BN candidates?
"Does she agree with the method of inducing students with the offer of a one-day replacement holiday and pressuring them with the threat of being marked as truant, in order to mobilise their attendance at a campaign event?
"If Chan does not agree, does she dare to publicly distance herself from such conduct?" he asked. - Mkini
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