PKR’s Dr S. Streram said he was given the runaround by the Election Commission (EC), resulting in him not having a pass and subsequently being barred from filing his nomination papers to contest for the Rantau state seat in Negeri Sembilan yesterday.

He was told that he could pick up his pass before the nomination process began yesterday.

“We were informed at 5pm the previous evening by a colleague of mine that we needed a pass. By the time I went to get the pass at the Rembau district office at 6.45pm, it was closed. And a worker told me I could get a pass early in the morning. So that’s why we went at 8am, he said.”

After being denied entry, the PKR candidate attempted to pass his nomination forms through intermediaries but they too were refused entry on grounds of not having a pass.

Two EC officers assured him at 9.42am that the matter would be resolved. At 9.45am Dr Streram said he attempted to push through some two dozen police officers to get to the nomination centre but he was stopped by security personnel who allegedly held him in a neck lock.

Nominations ended at 10am and caretaker Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan was declared the winner of the state seat about an hour later.

The 62-year-old anaesthesiologist filed a report at the Chembong police station at 3pm yesterday and will now sue the EC.

“I want a by-election. I want to contest against Mohamad Hasan. This is a stolen victory,” he said.

Dr Streram claimed it was illegal of the EC returning officer and police officers to stop him from entering the nomination centre simply because he did not have the pass.

“There’s no EC Act that says a pass is necessary. In other areas, such as Teratai and Kemas, candidates who didn’t have them were allowed to enter. This is double-standards,” Dr Streram said.

“This is a manipulative act by the EC, police and the returning officer not to allow the democratic process to take place.”

He said PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had spoken to him, adding that party leaders were “very supportive”: “They have asked me to stand up and take legal action.” – April 29, 2018.