More ‘dirt’ uncovered as KT by-Election enters final lap ~ Malaysiakini

The resignation of the KT returning officer amid allegations he tried to force city council staff to vote for the BN underscores the increasingly ‘dirty’ tone of the by-election – seen by many as a make-or-break test for incoming Umno president and deputy premier Najib Razak, while his boss Abdullah maintains a deafening silence

By Wong Choon Mei

Tomorrow will be D-Day for Kuala Terengganu folk, who have already done their state proud by being wonderful hosts to the hordes of politicians and supporters thronging their serene seaside town these past 11 days.

Tomorrow, January the seventeenth, KT folk will have one last duty to perform before peace and tranquillity is finally restored to them – cast their vote for the candidate they think can best represent their interest in Parliament.

Will they pick Wahid Endut from the Pakatan Rakyat, Wan Ahmad Farid from Barisan Nasional or Independent candidate Azharudin Mamat?

“It is really hard to say. While we have made significant gains with the Chinese voters, the BN has been chipping away at our traditional bastions. We hope we can withstand their onslaught,” said KeADILan information chief Tian Chua.

“The mood is good. We can feel the winds of change blowing. But it is a neck-to-neck battle,” said Terengganu PAS commissioner Mustafa Ali said.

“Our campaign efforts are progressing well, especially in the last two days or so,” said Deputy Prime Minister and BN campaign director Najib Abdul Razak.

Well, it looks like Wahid, Wan Ahmad and Azharudin – as well as the rest of Malaysia – will have to wait just a little while more to find out.

Show of corruption, money politics, abuse of power

According to the Election Commission, at least 82 percent of the electorate or some 66,231 KT voters will be at the 36 balloting centres and 143 polling streams prepared by the authorities.

“Even the contesting political parties are seen to be working hard to ensure that as many people as possible come out to vote on Saturday,” said Terengganu EC director Mohd Noor Daud.

But behind this veneer of enthusiasm is the spectre of the corruption prevalent in most parts of Malaysian life, money politics at its crudest, and abuse of power at its worst.

The overall mood, which had favored the Pakatan until the middle of this week,suddenly changed – sparking concern even among seasoned political veterans that something abnormal was afoot – most likely foul play!

And although the BN has rushed to counter-accuse the Pakatan of ’sour grapes’, an increasing trail of supportive evidence is starting to appear.

Just yeaterday, the returning officer for the by-election, Mat Razali Kassim, who is also the Kuala Terengganu mayor, resigned amid allegations that he had tried to coerce 500 of his council staff to vote for BN.

“My decision was in order to preserve the EC’s integrity and ensure the by-election goes about smoothly,” Mat Razali said.

“His action is highly unethical, we have proof,” said Wan Mutalib Embong, Terengganu PAS deputy commissioner.

Both PAS and Pakatan partner KeADILan Youth Wing have lodged police reports against Mat Razali. PAS has also reported the matter to the EC, which has accepted Mat Razali’s resignation.

Deputy returning officer Wan Mustafa Wan Hassan, who is also city council secretary, has been appointed to replace him.

Deafening silence from Abdullah, Najib

In the face of such concerted effort to thwart the will of voters – and if left unchecked – can there be hope for the Pakatan in KT, or for that matter, other opponents in other by-elections in Malaysia?

Said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim: “Umno is really desperate, you can see by the tone of their campaign. It is shocking. They are threatening civil servants. They are saying – we know who you will vote for.”

For the record, neither Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi nor his deputy Najib has come out to clear the air for the thousands of civil servants in KT so far.

Neither leader has taken the trouble to assure government servants that each vote is not only sacred, but also secret.

Neither has Abdullah or Najib ever told off any government supervisor against intimidating their staff – no matter how desperate the BN may seem to be for votes.

Rampant vote-buying and phantom voters

Anwar, the charismatic former deputy premier, also accused Umno, the BN’s dominant partner, of buying votes from the Malays – who form 88 percent of the 80,000-strong KT electorate.

He said Umno was paying anywhere from RM300-400 per voter to vote in favour of its candidate Wan Ahmad. “I am concerned how the Malay voters will vote. The Malays here are poor, money is being thrown by Umno to fish for votes,” Anwar added.

Terengganu was once the poorest of the 13 states in Malaysia. Despite having generated billions of ringgit in oil revenue and taxes for the BN federal government since the 1970s when petroleum was first discovered, it has moved just one notch up to second poorest state.

Another major concern is the prospect of phantom voters. The abnormally high presence of police personnel – more than 6,000 – deployed in KT has sparked fears that they might be ordered to act as phantom voters this Saturday.

“The large police presence in KT has given rise to worries that they might be roped in to pose as phantom voters on polling day,” said KeADILan’s Tian.

“We are preparing for a showdown,” said PAS’s Mustafa.