KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin today said that some of the money given to voters during the 15th general elections (GE15) by the coalition’s MPs were at the request of the voters themselves.

He said there were times when they were campaigning, people would come up to their candidates and ask for aid.

Hamzah was asked what his opinion was about PAS president Datuk Seri Haji Abdul Awang who said that the party did distribute cash to voters during GE15 but claimed that it was not against election rules as the money was allocated for "charity”.

Hadi further alleged that existing rules only prohibited contesting candidates and their representatives from giving cash to voters.

"Not sure about that but when we talk about giving money their intention is more important.

"Sometimes those people will ask the candidate money for repairs such as for their house so that’s why we have to be very careful of the intentions why we gave money to the people who asked for it,” he said when met at PNs CNY open house event at Gerakan headquarters in Cheras.

Meanwhile, Hamzah said PN is preparing its defence over allegations made by Ummo that there was vote buying in Terengganu.

Terengganu Umno chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said had said that the party had filed three election petitions at the state’s High Court over alleged vote buying in three constituencies.

During a press conference he claimed that voters in Kemaman, Kuala Terengganu and Marang had allegedly received between RM500 and RM1,000 per household from PN candidates in the last GE15.

"When they challenge us with the petition we will get the proof, we have it, this petition is done because they’re unhappy but we have our defence team working on it,” Hamzah said.