Police report lodged over Johor MB's shoplot voting address

DAP Mengkibol assemblyperson Tan Hong Ping has lodged a police report over Johor Menteri Besar Khaled Nordin and 13 others changing their voting address to that of the Pasir Gudang Umno division headquarters.

This was after Khaled defended the move as legitimate and denied that the state Umno is involved in secretly moving voters into the district.

"If Khaled denied that the movement of voters has anything to do with Umno, this shows that certain irresponsible parties are trying to sabotage Umno.

"If that is so, has Umno lodged a police report or an objection with the Election Commission over the sabotage using Umno's office address.

"If not, why has Khaled refused to do so? I challenge Umno to lodge a report to prove their sincerity and integrity," Tan said in a statement.

Tan also questioned why Khaled is still silent over eight other names who shared the same father's name as his, among those who transferred their voting address to the Pasir Gudang Umno headquarters.

Tan said that the similarity in their names to Khaled seemed suspicious and may hint of a dubious voter placement.

"As a head of the state government, Khaled should demonstrate proper conduct to others. His action which risks breaking laws for political gain is disappointing. He should apologise to all Johoreans for it.

The transfer of voting address involving Khaled and 13 others to a shoplot in Masai, Johor was discovered by Johor Pakatan Harapan on Feb 19 after combing through the electoral roll for the fourth quarter 2016, that is currently on display.

The address in question is the Pasir Gudang Umno division headquarters at 1, Jalan Tembusu Taman Rinting.

The electoral roll for third quarter 2016 recorded Khaled and his son Akmal Saufi's change of voter address to the above location.

The electoral roll for the subsequent quarter recorded that 12 more people had been added to the same address.

Khaled has confirmed that he had his voting registration changed to the Pasir Gudang Umno division headquarters, he defended the move as legitimate.

"There is nothing wrong with registering as a voter using your office (Pasir Gudang Umno division) address.

"That address is (also) my service centre (for the Permas) state constituency, " he told Malaysiakini in a text message.

While electoral reforms pressure group Bersih have accused him of likely breaching National Registration Department (NRD) rules by using his service centre address as his MyKad address.

Citing Regulation 15 of the National Registration Regulations 1990 (Amendment 2007), Bersih leader Maria Chin Abdullah pointed out that the MyKad address must be a place of residence.

According to Regulation 15, a MyKad holder residing in a new place for more than 90 days must have this change of address reflected on the MyKad.- Mkini