IT WOULD seem that Perikatan Nasional (PN) is unwilling to accept defeat in the upcoming Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) by-election. Scheduled for this Saturday (May 11), the opposition coalition has firmly stated its intention of taking the result to court should it lose the contest.
This is according to PN chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan who said they will petition the Electoral Court should the result go against its candidate given there have been clear instances of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ruling coalition having abused government assets in the run-up to the KKB by-election.
“We already have a lot of evidence of channelling and abuse of government machinery and also gifts which for us is election corruption,” the PAS secretary-general and Kota Bharu MP told HarakahDaily after PN candidate Khairul Azhari Saut tabled his election manifesto last night (May 6).
“If PH is destined to win, we will file an election petition. That’s for sure. We’ve encountered cases like this in Kuala Terengganu and Kemaman.”
The KKB state seat is seeing a four-cornered fight between PN’s Khairul Azhari Saut (Bersatu), Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Pang Sock Tao (DAP), Parti Rakyat Malaysia’s (PRM) Hafizah Zainudin and independent candidate Nyau Ke Xin.
The KKB seat fell vacant on March 21 following the demise of three-term DAP’s Lee Kee Hiong after a battle with ovarian cancer.
Takiyuddin further urged KKB voters to ensure a PN victory if they wish to avoid having another by-election which is a reflection of his firm belief that a petition to overturn a PH victory would be successful.
“The evidence of the violation is in the form of videos, notes and so on which we’ve collected this,” claimed the legal eagle who was the lawyer-in-charge of the petitions filed against three MPs in Terengganu (including PAS president and Marang MP Tan Sri Hadi Awang) and one each in Kelantan and Melaka.
“So, I call on the KKB voters that if you don’t wish to vote again in another by-election, make sure that PN win this forthcoming by-election. If PH wins, we will definitely file an election petition later.” – May 7, 2024
