NOW THE TRUTH COMES OUT – PRO-AZMIN CHIEFTAINS MAY HAVE PLOTTED SHOCK ATTACK ON RAFIZI IN KENINGAU: PKR ELECTION PANEL TOO ACCUSED OF BEING ‘COMPLICIT’ IN KENINGAU SABOTAGE – ‘THEY PURPOSELY CHOSE A SMALL WOODEN COMMUNITY HALL WITH NO TELEPHONE LINES OR STABLE INTERNET’ – RAFIZI BLOWS THE WHISTLE ON ADZMAN FOR DECIDING TO HOLD POLLS IN A HALL CHOSEN BY AZMIN CAMP

PKR deputy president candidate Rafizi Ramli has said that the party’s central election committee (JPP) purposely chose a small, wooden community centre where there was no telephone line or stable internet connection for party polls in the Keningau division.

He also refuted earlier claims by the JPP’s deputy chairman, Adzman Hedra, saying he was trying to deflect the blame from the JPP to him.

The PKR polls are using an e-voting system that requires steady internet connection and good communication lines.

“I refute this. (Adzman) was not even there to control the crowd. No one could have controlled a crowd of PKR members who had been asked to stand for four to five hours and subsequently, refused to vote,” he told The Malaysian Insight. 

“(Adzman) is just trying to deflect the blame from JPP to me, as it has to answer for why it made all the wrong decisions that caused all these problems,” he added. 

According to Rafizi, the committee had agreed to hold the polls at a community hall, as chosen by a candidate aligned to his rival and incumbent, Azmin Ali. 

He said more than 1,500 of his supporters had lined up to vote there, and when it came close to the deadline, the crowd began jostling to get into the hall. 

“As the people began rushing in to vote, the committee could not control the situation and decided to call it off at the last minute. 

“It was at this moment, as I was about to leave the small hall, that a man came from behind and tried to hit me but only managed to graze my head,” said Rafizi, adding that deputy president candidates were allowed into voting halls. 

He said Keningau PKR division chief Johari Tahir had also used bouncers to block the door, only allowing those aligned to him in to vote. 

“There was protest outside because inside the hall, Johari’s men were controlling the door and only allowed his voters to come in. The commotion from inside and outside the hall, as seen in the viral video, was because Johari purposely tried to stop the voting because he was overwhelmed by his opponents’ supporters,” he said. 

Rafizi said he lodged a police report over the incident about 8pm, after going for a medical check-up.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT