Terengganu Umno has filed election petitions alleging vote buying in three constituencies – Marang, Kuala Terengganu dan Kemaman – in the recent general election (GE15).
Ahmad said the vote-buying took place on Nov 15, 16 and 17, with most households in the constituencies receiving RM500 to RM1,000 each. Polling for GE15 took place on Nov 19.
“On Nov 15, 16 and 17, 2022, Perikatan Nasional (PN) had given out funds in the form of i-siswa, i-belia dan i-pencen to voters in Terengganu, including to those who had returned home to vote.
“While it is a special fund under the Terengganu state government, and also funding from PN, the fact that it was given out during the election makes it morally wrong.
“Meanwhile, at Kampung Tok Hakim, a viral TikTok video showed someone admitting, “I took money from you, so I will vote for PAS”, Ahmad said during a press conference at the World Trade Centre here.
Ahmad said they have met with witnesses from eight parliamentary constituencies, but only those from Marang, Kuala Terengganu and Kemaman were willing to cooperate.
“Many admitted that they received (bribes), but when we mention (appearing) in court, they refused to cooperate.
Umno lawyer Amin Othman said that the petition is to challenge the victory of the PAS candidates in Kemaman, Marang and Kuala Terengganu in GE15.
“We have filed the petition on the basis of corruption,” he said, adding that 20 voters have come forward as witnesses
As any movie watcher knows, Mafia Godfathers are always among those who profess their Catholic faith most loudly, attend church most religiously and claim to be the most holy of people whilst their minions murder and pillage their communities.
The bigwigs of the ‘Islamic religious party’ PAS need to demonstrate they are not at the same game in terms of rampant political corruption.
Handing out ‘student, youth and pension grants’ in neat little envelopes of cash, all at the same time days before an election and in the name of their political party, is very scant window dressing for buying votes at the taxpayer’s expense.
One wonders how the legislation for these grants was drawn up – did it specify that these support payments to the elderly and to college goers should be provided not as regular stipends or as lump sums before the start of term, but only when an election is suddenly called and in the form of cash handed out only by PAS party MPs?
If so, legal challenges would have been inevitable and they would have been won.
We await the outcome of Terengganu Umno chief Ahmad Said’s whistleblowing and if one scrap of what he says proves true the Marang MP, namely PAS leader Hadi Awang, should not only resign he should prepare to remove his pious devotions to within the four walls of a correctional institution.
And there ought to be a re-election in Terengganu.