Outside Dr M's base, BN thumbs nose with flurry of flags

GE14 | As election fever heats up, BN appears to be thumbing its nose at Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad by planting its flags along the road leading to his office in Putrajaya.

Several of the flags were planted along the mini-roundabout right outside the gates of the Perdana Leadership Foundation.

A security officer guarding Mahathir's base of operations told Malaysiakini that the flags were planted on Monday.

"(Mahathir) has asked us to leave the flags alone.

"Plus, the road belongs to the (local authority) Putrajaya Corporation (PPJ). Our property is only from the gate onwards," the officer, who declined to be named, said last night.

However, after a fundraising concert at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, a group of youths were spotted taking down some of the flags.

They stopped when they noticed they were being watched.

PPJ's bylaws prohibit political flags from being put on display in public places before the official campaigning period, which begins on nomination day, April 28.

The corporation's president Hasim Ismail, however, told Malay Mail Online in March that PPJ had exercised its discretion in allowing BN flags to be put up.

Thus far, no flags bearing the PKR 'eye' – Harapan's common logo – have been spotted in major areas of Putrajaya.

Election day is on Wednesday, May 9.

Putrajaya was one of the seats that Mahathir was tipped to contest in the 14th general election.

However, sources have confirmed that Harapan's prime ministerial candidate will be making his parliamentary comeback in Langkawi instead.

Mahathir himself has made several forays into the strongholds of major BN figures, most notably holding a ceramah in caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's constituency of Pekan. - Mkini