Bersih lodges police report against Zahid for allegedly attempting to influence voters

JOHOR BARU: The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) has lodged a police report against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over allegedly trying to influence voters at a people’s housing project (PPR).

Bersih chairman Thomas Fann said the decision to lodge the report was made from a video clip during the Umno president’s visit to PPR Melana Indah here last Sunday (Sept 3).

“He made a speech to influence Pulai voters by saying that the upgrading project for PPR Melana Indah will be reviewed and approved on condition that Pakatan Harapan’s candidate wins by-election this Saturday (Sept 9).

“If not, the application from Johor housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, will be ‘looked at’ again,” he added.

ALSO READ : Eligible voters urged to return from Singapore for Simpang Jeram and Pulai by-elections

Fann said this when met by the media outside the Johor Baru South police headquarters.

He said that Ahmad Zahid’s speech should be investigated as it violated Section 9 for undue influence and Section 10 for bribery under the Election Offences Act 1954.

Fann also said that Ahmad Zahid’s speech also contradicted the 3C principles (no conditions, no campaigns, no candidates) that had been outlined by Bersih for the conduct of non-caretaker governments during an election period.

“In the case of the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections, the Federal and the Johor governments cannot be made with conditions, with candidates present or use government functions to campaign, as was done by Ahmad Zahid.

“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should immediately control the conduct of his Cabinet members by issuing caretaker and non-caretaker government guidelines so that government resources and machinery are not misused by ministers to campaign,” he added.

Fann said that this was not the first time that Ahmad Zahid, as the Deputy Prime Minister, had committed such violations as a similar speech was made by him during the recent six state elections campaign in Kuala Terengganu.

“Such conditional announcements of government allocations apply undue pressure on voters to vote freely and such campaign behaviour is unlikely to generate support for the government.

“We hope that the rest of the campaign for these two by-elections and the next Pelangai by-election will be conducted in a clean, fair and democratic manner,” he said.