BARISAN Nasional (BN) candidate for the Segamat parliamentary seat at the 15th general election (GE15) Tan Sri M. Ramasamy has filed a petition with the election court challenging Pakatan Harapan candidate R. Yuneswaran’s win.
Recall that in GE15 the PKR central council member won the Segamat seat with 23,437 votes, defeating Ramasamy who garnered 17,768 votes with a 5,669 majority.
Speaking to The Malaysian Insight, Ramasamy said he is seeking to void the election’s results as he claimed that Yuneswaran and the Election Commission (EC) had “violated rules” during the campaigning period.
“I have all the evidence for this. This is not a party issue. This is my right as a candidate. I have done what I should,” the MIC treasurer was quoted as saying by the news portal.
Among others, Ramasamy is accusing Yuneswaran and his agents of violating election rules by distributing food parcels to hundreds of voters on the campaign trail.
“We don’t know what’s in the parcels,” he said, adding that he had reported the alleged violations to the EC and the police but no action has been taken so far.
He also noted that he had informed MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran of his petition so that this matter could be brought to the attention of the BN leadership.
It is worth noting that BN and Harapan are partners in the federal government, and have also jointly formed several other state governments including in Pahang and Perak.
The news portal further reported that he had also lodged complaints against Ungku Mohd Tahir Ungku Mohd Zakaria and the EC for failing to comply with the rules of the election process.
Meanwhile, Yuneswaran, who has received the petition writ from Ramasamy, had denied any wrongdoing and said the petition will have implications on the unity government.
“I don’t know why this petition was filed. BN should maintain good relations with PH and the unity government,” he was reported as saying by the news portal.
The petition is set for case management in the Muar election court tomorrow. – Jan 17, 2023
