GE14 LIVE DAY 10 | It's Day 10 of the 14th general election campaign period, and there are just three days to go before polling day.
Follow our live blog as the Malaysiakini team brings you the news as it takes place.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Shafie laughs off ‘not Sabahan enough’ claim
- Azmin mobbed in Malacca
- Muar dialogue called off, official cites 'public safety'
- Case of cop not being allowed to vote to be referred to EC, DPP
- Pulau Tuba will be developed if Harapan wins, Dr M tells Langkawi folks
- Syerleena cries foul over more banners calling her anti-Islam
- Phantom voters haunting Klang, says Klang incumbent
- Amanah to moot RCI on Memali misinformation
- Najib not coming to Johor before polling day
- International election observers arrive today
Shafie laughs off ‘not Sabahan enough’ claim
6pm: Semporna, Sabah - Despite some critics claiming that Parti Warisan Sabah president Mohd Shafie Apdal is more ‘Malay’, the former Umno vice-president assured voters today that he is still very much a Bajau.
During two programmes at separate villages in Bum-Bum Island today, Shafie gave his speeches in Bajau, save for a few sentences in Bahasa Malaysia.
Both programmes drew hundreds of people, with those in attendance listening attentively and laughing each time Shafie made jokes in his usual understated fashion.
At the second function, despite a disturbance when the microphone failed to work and Shafie had to rely to amplifying his voice to address the crowd, they still listened with rapt attention.
As a voter pointed out, locals are more appreciative and attentive whenever they are addressed by Sabahan politicians in their respective native tongues.
Shafie in his speech also cited caretaker foreign minister Anifah Aman, who reportedly said that people in the state should choose only "genuine" Sabahans to become chief minister – implying that the Warisan chief wasn’t one.
"But the Bajau, Dusun, Murut are ethnic groups included in the Sabah enactment.
"He (Anifah) insulted me, but it's fine, I know that the people of Semporna know who they want to vote for," said Shafie.
Azmin mobbed in Malacca
6.30pm: Hang Tuah Jaya, Malacca - Caretaker Selangor menteri besar Mohamed Azmin Ali speaks to a crowd of about 150 people at a ceramah kelompok at Kampung Solok Baroh.
He tells them about the various initiatives the Selangor government has implemented for the rakyat’s benefit since the federal opposition took over.
“People in Selangor does not pay a single sen for their water.
“On their water bill, it is written, paid for by the Selangor government. What does Malacca have?” Azmin says to the crowd, some of who yell back, “Nothing.”
He also tells them about tax-exempt low-cost houses in rural areas of Selangor, as well as free buses and healthcare programs in Selangor.
“Does Malacca have this?” he would ask after each example. When the crowd says no, he would say sarcastically, “Serves you right,” to a laughing crowd.
When Azmin arrived at the ceramah kelompok earlier, most of the crowd rushed towards him to greet him and take pictures with him.
Muar dialogue called off, official cites 'public safety'
6.15pm: Muar, Johor - A closed door "casual dialogue" between incumbent Muar MP Razali Ibrahim and Bersatu youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman that was supposed to be live streamed has been called off.
Muar district officer Onn Jabbar, who Razali yesterday said would host the session, says after discussions with the candidates and their representatives that safety and public order would be prioritised instead.
When asked at a press conference how a closed door dialogue would pose a security threat, Onn replies saying that he had advised the Razali and Syed Saddiq to focus on their campaigns and drop the whole debate discussion.
Razali when met after the press conference, declined to comment.
Saddiq subsequently released a video saying he is still prepared to debate Razali at any time.
‘BN can sweep Sabah with a show of solidarity’
5.30pm: Kota Marudu, Sabah – BN chairperson Najib Abdul Razak states that the coalition can retain Sabah with a show of solidarity by all component parties.
He urges the BN machinery in the state to work hard to achieve a clean sweep in Wednesday’s polls.
"This morning I made a visit to Keningau, before meeting the people in Beaufort and later with the people in Kota Marudu. I saw a very encouraging and conducive atmosphere... this is a positive sign for BN.
“So I don’t see any reason that the BN cannot win on the condition all the component parties jointly support whoever are contesting as candidates, because they are BN candidates.
“There is a place for PBS candidates, a place for Umno candidates and also places for other parties. Most importantly BN must win and form the government,” he is quoted as saying by Bernama.
Najib also reiterates his comment on Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad caring little for the state.
"Dr Mahathir did not visit Sabah because he did not get support in Sabah... this is because of his track record of 22 years, Sabahans will not forget. He forgot but the people of Sabah will not forget,” he says.
Case of cop not being allowed to vote to be referred to EC, DPP
5pm: Tawau, Sabah - Inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun says the case of the police officer not allowed to cast his ballot during early voting on May 5 will be referred to the deputy public prosecutor or the Election Commission.
According to Bernama, Fuzi also states that a probe had been opened into the case.
“Investigation is being conducted by my officers in Bukit Aman,” he is quoted as saying.
The police officer claimed that EC officials had barred him from voting as their records showed that he had already done so – although he showed them his unstained left index finger.
Pulau Tuba will be developed if we win, Dr M tells Langkawi
2.15pm: Pulau Tuba, Langkawi - Harapan candidate for Langkawi, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, assured that the 17 square-kilometre Pulau Tuba will be developed like other towns if Harapan wins in this Wednesday's polls.
He said he will stress on aspects of education, health and skills on the island folk, so that they can improve their incomes.
"The people of Langkawi have their own cement factories, others don't have it, so we will use the cement to build houses to the people of the island, so that they can live as comfortable as those in Alor Setar, Sungai Petani and others.
"It will take some time to catch up to Kuala Lumpur. We cannot have LRT, MRT, but we will have better connectivity, our children will be given scholarships to be trained to become doctors, lawyers, and engineers," the Harapan chairperson said during the Kenduri Rakyat event today.
Pulau Tuba, which is located south of Langkawi, is home to 5,000 people, of which 1,900 are registered voters.
DAP's Syerleena cries foul over more banners calling her anti-Islam
2pm: Seri Delima, Penang - DAP's Seri Delima candidate Syerleena Abdul Rashid holds a press conference at DAP's Bukit Gelugor operations centre, to denounce repeated claims she is anti-Islam.
She is responding to a fresh lot of banners that are "racist" and touch on religious sensitivities, targeted at her.
As the first DAP Malay woman fielded by the party in this election, Syerleena had been attacked by her opponents even before nomination on April 28.
"One of the posters were taken from the malicious slander against me that I had attacked Jakim, which is a lie," Syerleena says.
"I was accused of plotting to change the religion of the federation from Islam to Christianity, which is absurd.
"I have lodged four police reports, but such dirty political tactics continue," she says.
Accompanying Syerleena at the event is Bukit Gelugor candidate Ramkarpal Singh.
Phantom voters haunting Klang, says incumbent
1.40pm: Klang, Selangor - Harapan candidate for Klang, Charles Santiago, alleges there are numerous instances of phantom voters in his constituency's electoral roll.
“The voter roll in Klang appears to be tainted with phantom voters,” he says in a statement today.
These include numerous voters registered at a single address non-existent addresses, as well as voters whose IC numbers appear in the Sabah royal commission of inquiry's list of illegal voters.
“Over 500 new voters have been registered in Kampung Idaman, Pandamaran Jaya and Telok Gong. Many of these voters have been transferred in from as far as Malacca, Perak and Sabah,” claims Santiago, the incumbent Klang MP.
The main telltale signs, he says, are:
- Multiple voters at the same address
- Addresses where houses are too small to possibly accommodate the number of people registered as voters there
- Houses or roads that appear to be nonexistent
He cites several examples:
- 27 voters registered in 26, Jln 5, Kampung Idaman
- 26 registered in 21, Jln 8A
- 25 registered in 6, Jln 1
- No 28, Jln 79 has 10 voters registered in a span of 6 months
- There does not appear to be a No 26, Jln 6 (where all the houses are odd-numbered)
- There does not appear to be a Jln 8 in Pandamaran Jaya.
He says these instances are concentrated in the Pelabuhan Klang state seat, which has now become a marginal seat after the redelineation.
“Last elections, we highlighted the case of 994, Jalan Papan with 34 Indian and Malay voters in a Chinese home, and this has not been rectified till now.
“On top and above this, there are 495 voters whose IC numbers are in the Sabah Project IC royal commission of inquiry list, who are also in the Klang voter roll,” he adds.
Santiago says these are just several examples of suspected manipulation and cheating in the Klang voter roll, and says the EC “must bear full responsibility over this”.
'Johor has issued sufficient Paca passes'
Johor Baru: The Johor Election Commission has issued sufficient supply of polling and counting agent (Paca) passes for GE14, said its director Shafie Taib.
He said about 100,000 Paca passes have been provided for the agents representing 247 candidates who would be contesting for the state's parliamentary and state seats.
"Some people have complained that the EC had not issued adequate Paca passes. Perhaps there was a miscommunication when the passes were distributed or some parties have requested for additional passes.
"Please take note that one candidate is eligible to one pass per channel and we may give an additional pass during a change of shift," he said when met by reporters at the EC Office at Wisma Persekutuan here today.
Amanah to moot RCI on Memali misinformation
12.35pm: Shah Alam, Selangor - Amanah communications director Khalid Samad says his party will push for a Harapan-led federal government to set-up a royal commission of inquiry to establish the intelligence received by police officers during in the Memali incident of the 1980s.
"As far as Harapan is concerned, and particularly we from Amanah, the Memali incidentmust be investigated further.
"We believe that inaccurate information has been given to the security forces leading to such a large number of heavily armed personnel being deployed, as if they were cracking down on a communist stronghold," Khalid, who is defending his Shah Alamparliamentary seat tells reporters during a press conference at his office in Section 13.
At the same time, Khalid also says Amanah accepts Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad's apology over the 92-year-old's "mati katak" (died in vain) remark in reference to those who had died in the clash between Memali villagers and the police.
"I view that maybe (Mahathir) had a slip of the tongue...he has also apologised so therefore we (Amanah) accept his apology," he says.
On Nov 19, 1985, villagers of Kampung Memali, Kedah clashed with police attempting to arrest PAS leader Ibrahim Mahmood, or Ibrahim Libya, on suspicion of heading a "deviant" sect and plotting to topple the government.
On another matter, Khalid says he has lodged a police report against two banners with his image and the caption 'Polis Malaysia Anjing' (Malaysian police are dogs) put up outside the Shah Alam district police station and Selangor police contingent headquarters on Saturday.
"I have asked the police to investigate, and I was informed the forensics team has taken fingerprints from the banners," says Khalid, who describes such tactics as "cheap politics" that intends to mislead Shah Alam voters.
12.30pm: Permatang Pauh, Penang - Candidates Nurul Izzah Anwar (Permatang Pauh), Norlela Ariffin (Penanti) and Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya) hold a press conference in Yayasan Aman.
Afif says the party is organising a grand finale ceramah at Tapak Expo Seberang Jaya on May 8, the eve of Wednesday's polling day, starting at 8pm.
"We will also be having a solat hajat (prayers to seek blessings for candidates), which is fixed at 7pm at the same venue," he says.
"Pakatan Harapan's chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad's final message for GE14 will also be telecast for all to see at the ceramah about 10pm," he adds.
Najib not coming to Johor before polling day
11am: Bakri, Johor - Umno president Najib Abdul Razak will not be coming to Johor.
Caretaker menteri besar Khaled Nordin shook his head and said no when asked if Najib will be coming to Johor to help BN campaign in before polling day on Wednesday. He did not explain why.
Najib was last in Johor on April 19.
Earlier Khaled handed over offer certificates for affordable housing in Taman Bakri Setia.
"If you want more affordable housing in Johor, vote for BN," he says in his speech.
International election observers arrive today
11am: KLIA, Sepang- International election observers from nine countries will be arriving in the country beginning today for the 14th general election this Wednesday.
The first group of observers to arrive is from the Maldives. Led by the chairman of the Election Commission of Maldives, Ahmed Shareef, the group arrived at KL International Airport (KLIA) at 7.20am today and was welcomed by a member of the Malaysian Election Commission, K Bala Singam.
The group of observers from Thailand is expected to arrive at 12.15pm today, followed by observers from Azerbaijan, at 3.30pm.
Prior to this, Malaysian Election Commission chairperson Mohd Hashim Abdullah said that the commission was inviting international election observers to look at the transparency of the election process in the country.
He said the invitation was extended to Azerbaijan, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand and Uzbekistan.
Apart from that, the commission also appointed 1,236 election observers from 14 local non-governmental organisations. -Mkini
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