Anwar tells off Election Commission, Bersih for picking on him 

Bernard Saw Bernard Saw Updated 7 years ago · Published on 8 Oct 2018 9:48AM · 2 Comments

Pakatan Hardpan supporters at a ceramah in Chuah, Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan, on Anwar Ibrahim’s campaign trail, yesterday night. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Hasnoor Hussain, October 8, 2018.

THE Election Commission (EC) and electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 could advise election candidates but should not be overzealous in their oversight, said Anwar Ibrahim. 

The Port Dickson by-election candidate said he was abiding by the rules and was not using government machinery to campaign for him. 

“We follow the laws, rules and we respect Bersih and EC, so we cannot misuse anything. But do not go overboard,” Anwar told reporters on the campaign trail yesterday.

He was commenting after Bersih and the EC raised objections to him campaigning with Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu at an army camp.

Anwar said he should not be picked on him for campaigning with fellow Pakatan Harapan leaders.

The former deputy prime minister said the EC should instead watch out for practices such as contract awards for projects and false promises during elections. 

“What we do not want is the misuse of money, giving out projects… these we do not want,” Anwar said. 

New EC chairman Azhar Azizan Harun had said that it was unfair for one candidate to be able to campaign in the army camp in Port Dickson while other candidates were denied access.

Anwar has had o clarify that his appearances at the military camp and at mosques were on invitation by the respective hosts, while denying that he was using government programmes and mosques to campaign for the Port Dickson by-election.

Members of the the ruling Pakatan Harapan government had come under scrutiny over the use of government assets and facilities for campaigning purposes.

Anwar had made a speech at the Port Dickson army camp, where he had appeared along with Sabu. The two of them had left in the same vehicle.

Anwar said he had hitched a ride with Sabu because he wished to talk to him.

“That day, when Mat Sabu came, I wanted to speak to him but I didn’t have the time because he wanted to go back. So I invited him to go in my car.

“(I believed) It would be wrong for me to go in his car but it would be against military protocol for him to go in my car. So in the end, I went in his car,” he said. – October 8, 2018.
 

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Comments

  • EC & Bersih should continue with their good practices and point out any irregularities and wrong doings by all/any candidate.
    You are doing a good job! However, when making any recommendations or providing directives to candidates, please ensure you have the all facts before making the right conclusions.
    Its a challenging call to make the military camp accessible to other candidates, when Anwar claims he was invited to a military function. How then do allow the camp accessible to other candidates? You need to investigate further before making any conclusions..

    Posted 7 years ago by Thiruchelvam Thirunavukarasu · Reply

  • EC & Bersih, we the Rakyat will have the highest respect and trust in you for speaking out with fear or favor. Please continue to apply the same stringent standard of checks and balance on ALL politicians and parties irrespective of their positions. We do not wish to see any past BN abuses in PH. They must be crystal clear and clean. Yes facts must be facts. Be thorough.

    Posted 7 years ago by Concerned Citizen · Reply