POLICE must apprehend the perpetrators responsible for the transfer of around 5,000 voters with dubious details to Wangsa Maju, said PKR.

Police cannot pass the buck to the Election Commission since it is a crime to give a public servant false information, said PKR treasurer Tan Yee Kew at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.

The Malaysian Insight reported yesterday that PKR fears losing Wangsa Maju, a seat it won by 5,511 votes in 2013, because of an influx of some 5,000 voters with dubious details.

“If a crime is committed under the Penal Code, it is the duty of the police to investigate,” she said.

PKR conducted door-to-door surveys last year, confirming 1,429 voters did not live in their registered addresses in the electoral roll.

The party further identified another 3,500 suspicious voters, particularly those registered in clusters of more than eight at one address.

Wangsa Maju district police chief Mohammad Roy Suhaimi Sarif told The Malaysian Insight the four police reports lodged by an individual representing PKR were forwarded to the EC for further action.

Tan said the police answer is unacceptable.

“Besides arresting those who used falsified addresses to change their polling stations, the perpetrators who masterminded the massive transfer of voters with the intention of manipulating the election results must be brought to justice,” said Tan.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said police cannot drag their feet as the 14th general election (GE14) can be held any time soon.

“If (critics) of the prime minister (Najib Razak) can be caught swiftly, why is this taking so long?” asked Nurul Izzah.

She also urged voters to turn out in large numbers to vote in GE14 to deter attempts by unscrupulous quarters to manipulate the elections.

EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah said yesterday it is up to police to act on suspicious voter registrations.

Hashim said this is because the case involves criminal offence under the Penal Code and the National Registration Act 1959 (Act 78) as well as the regulations under it.

“If necessary, the EC is willing to give full cooperation to the police to conduct their investigation into the case,” he said in a statement.

He confirmed receiving a letter from the Wangsa Maju police headquarters on January 17, related to a police report on new voters who provided suspicious personal information to the EC and National Registration Department. – January 25, 2018.