Did you manipulate GE13, Bersatu's Wan Saiful asks Najib

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak must explain if he manipulated the last general election, said Bersatu's deputy chairperson of strategy and policy Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

He also wanted the BN chairperson to assure that manipulative tactics would not be used for the coming general election.

Wan Saiful was responding to reports that data company Cambridge Analytica, which reportedly played a key role in US President Donald Trump's 2016 election victory, admitted to conducting operations in Malaysia.

The Bersatu politician pointed out that Cambridge Analytica is a company mired in scandal for alleged unethical manipulation of personal data for electoral gains.

“They have been accused of extracting the personal data of up to 50 million Facebook users without consent, for use in the American presidential campaign to help Trump by targeting adverts to specific users in a manipulative way, exploiting their 'inner demons'.

“Cambridge Analytica's investor include Robert Mercer, a billionaire known for his financial contribution to Trump's right-wing campaign and other American right-wing organisations.

“Steve Bannon, a former key adviser to Trump and a person notorious for his right-wing views, was on the board of the company,” he added.

Wan Saiful said he was shocked to learn about the alleged relationship between Najib's campaign with Cambridge Analytica.

He said this raised the question as to whether Najib (photo) and Umno used tactics similar to the American right-wing movements and people like Bannon.

“Electoral manipulation is grossly unethical and detrimental to our parliamentary democracy. I hope that Najib did not intentionally bring Cambridge Analytica into Malaysia to exploit racial sentiments and create racial divide here, for his short-term political benefits,” he added.

As the head of the GE13 election team which was appointed and accredited by the Election Commission, Wan Saiful claimed that he witnessed how the environment was set up to favour Umno and BN.

“Following inputs from the 300 observers I had on the ground, I concluded that GE13 was only partially free and not fair because of how the environment was conditioned way before polling day itself.

“Now, this revelation about Najib and Umno's involvement with Cambridge Analytica makes a most worrying read,” he added.

Wan Saiful urged the prime minister to explain how much was paid to Cambridge Analytica with regard to the last general election and what was the exact nature of their work.

“More importantly, no matter how desperate Najib is to stay in power, he must not resort to divisive and unethical tactics of manipulating right-wing and ethnoreligious sentiments in Malaysia.

“Do not let your desperation to stay in power destroy the future of this country and our parliamentary democracy,” he said. -Mkini