A FREE dinner to take place  before polling in Port Dickson on Saturday is no different from the feast hosted in Penang by wanted businessman Low Taek Jho during the 13th general election, Bersih 2.0 said.

The elections watchdog said it shared Lukut assemblyman Choo Ken Hwa’s concern that the dinner for 3,000 to 4,000 people was unhealthy campaign practice. 

“Such a dinner is no different from the feast thrown by Jho Low in Penang during the 13th general election. Section 8 of the Election Offences Act prohibits treating of food, drink, refreshment or provision to induce voters to vote for a particular candidate. 

“We call for the dinner event to be postponed until after the by-election. In the Sungai Kandis by-election, a free durian fest was postponed to after the by-election to avoid any breach of election laws. This good precedent should be followed,” Bersih’s steering committee said in a statement today.

Ahead of GE13 in May 2008, Low was reported to have organised and paid for a concert that featured several celebrities in Penang

It is unclear who the organisers of the Port Dickson dinner are, but PH candidate Anwar Ibrahim has been invited.

Choo had recently told the press that such a practice by Pakatan Harapan could turn the new government into “Barisan Nasional 2.0 or Umno 2.0”

Bersih said if the dinner was hosted by parties campaigning for a candidate, the candidate would have violated Section 15A of the Election Offences Act which prohibits parties other than the candidate, his election agent and persons authorised by the election agent from incurring expenses for the campaign.

The spending limit for a parliamentary candidate is also capped at RM200,000.

“Therefore, the expenses incurred for the free concert in Port Dickson during the by-election should be borne by the candidate, his election agent or person authorised by the election agent, and be included in the financial statement of the candidate’s election campaign expenditure,” Bersih said. – October 9, 2018.