Koalisi Pemilu yang Bersih dan Adil or BERSIH urges all political parties and legislative candidates (candidates) to campaign in a clean, free and fair manner in winning the hearts of the people in Malaysia's 15th General Election. Candidates are required to comply with Akta Kesalahan Pilihan Raya [The Election Offences Act].
“The legislative candidates, parties, campaign machines, as well as all parties involved, including the Interim Ministers, must campaign in a clean and law-abiding manner, especially with respect to the Election Crime Act,” said BERSIH Chairman, Thomas Fann, according to a release received by electionhouse.org. on Wednesday (11/9).
Based on BERSIH's monitoring results, many campaign violations were found by political parties and legislative candidates. The rise of money politics in the form of goods. Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional, and Pakatan Harapan distributed oil and provided free motor oil changes in several Regions of Dewan Undangan Negeri [State Legislative Assembly] (DUN) and Parliament. This activity violates Section 10 of the Election Offences Act.
“For example, on November 4, PH Alor Gajah Youth held a free oil exchange program at Taman Vista Belimbing. The incumbent member of parliament, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, has also held a similar program on October 21, 2022," said Thomas.
In addition, Partai Aksi Demokratis [the Democratic Action Party] or DAP Pulau Penang also launched a subsidy program for voters who will vote for DAP again in the upcoming elections. The conduct violates Sections 10 and 20 of the Election Offences Act.
"Well, as a result of our investigation, they finally closed access to the application link," he said.
It was also found that the Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Klang Parliament and the Kemuning City ADN, YB Ganabatirau, will hold the 2022 Port Klang Deepavali celebration on November 12. The celebration poster states that there will be a lucky draw and free food. This violates Section 8 of the Election Offences Act.
The Muo Children's Carnival public campaign will also be organized by the National Alliance in PASTI Hadi, Parit Tarom, Muar Johor. According to a poster on the National Alliance Facebook page, the carnival will provide lucky draws, free haircuts, free oil changes and cash prizes for several competitions.
Not only money politics in campaigns, BERSIH also discovered the use of state resources by political parties. The Interim Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri, announced the cancellation of the FELCRA debt. November 8, 2022, candidate member of the Sungai Buloh Parliament, Khairy Jamaludin, attended the handover of community equipment at the Digital Economy Center (PEDi) Taman Saujana Utama, Sungai Buloh with the Acting Minister of Communication and Multimedia, Tan Sri Annuar Musa. His presence, according to Thomas, used the government's machine to campaign.
Malaysia does not have a specific law regarding the misuse of state resources by candidates and political parties. However, Articles 3 and 4 of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Article 11 of the Bangkok Declaration state the separation between the government and political parties, as well as the prohibition of using state resources during the campaign period.
“BERSIH once again encourages candidates and parties to campaign in a clean and fair manner, and based on the ideas and policies they want to offer the people for a better future,” concluded Thomas. []
This article is translated by Catherine Natalia.
