THE Election Commission has to look into a concert organised by an Anwar Ibrahim fan club in Port Dickson this Saturday, electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 said.

The free Picnic PD concert, co-organised by the Anwar Ibrahim Club (AIC), Pertubuhan Khidmat Kebajikan Masyarakat Madani and Muafakat Anak Muda Port Dickson, will feature celebrities M. Nasir, Awie, Hattan, Ito and Wani Hasrita. 

The concert is part of a carnival, which kicks off tomorrow.

Bersih 2.0 acting chairman Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari said the cost of organising the concert was unclear and that the EC should ensure no candidate was making use of the event to campaign for votes in the by-election.

Anwar is contesting for the Port Dickson seat in his bid to return to the Dewan Rakyat as an MP. Polling day is on October 13.

Others in the race are independents Isa Samad, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, Lau Seck Yan, Stevie Chan and Kan Chee Yuen, as well as PAS’ Mohd Nazari Mokhtar, a retired air force veteran.

“If it becomes clear that the event is to campaign for the by-election, Bersih and other observers will go and have a look. Then, we have to also look at the cost,” Shahrul told a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

The maximum sum allowed for a candidate’s campaign is RM200,000.

Shahrul said the EC should also take into consideration campaigning costs covered by political parties or other sponsors, not just by the individual candidate.

“The expenses of the candidate’s campaign is audited. But what if the expenses are by the party or other sources? Will that be audited as well?”

An AIC spokesman told The Malaysian Insight that the concert was not being held to campaign for Anwar.

Although Anwar was expected to visit the venue, he would not undertake any campaign activities, he said.

It is learned that the funds for the event was raised through the sale of stall space for the carnival. – October 4, 2018.