KLUANG, Sept 28 — The Unity Machinery is claiming that there were provocative banners put up to sow discord among members of Kluang UMNO Division and urging Chinese voters not to vote in the Mahkota state assembly by-election today.
Barisan Nasional (BN) Mahkota by-election deputy director, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, alleged that these banners were displayed at several polling district centres early this morning.
“We have removed all the banners to prevent any undue influence on voters. It’s 2024, and incidents like this should no longer occur. We will be filing a police report,” he said during a press conference at the Unity Operations Centre today.
Also present were Kluang member of parliament Wong Shu Qi and Johor DAP vice chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali.
Ahmad, who is also the Johor UMNO Liaison deputy chairman, described resorting to such tactics on polling day as desperate, lacking in ideas, and devoid of issues.
Ahmad said the purported banners urging Chinese voters not to vote were in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Umar, also a voter in the Mahkota constituency, claimed he received a call at 8.33 am from an unknown individual campaigning for votes, despite the campaign period officially ending at 11.59 pm the previous night.
“This is unacceptable as it violates election regulations. What we condemn most strongly is the use of a narrow, racially divisive narrative to garner votes,” he said.
The Mahkota by-election features a straight contest between Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah and Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Mohamad Haizan Jaafar. — Bernama
