TENANG BY-ELECTION: The Polling Day Vote Buying

TENANG BY-ELECTION: The Polling Day (Normala Sudirman)

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LABIS: Allegations of vote buying have surfaced in Tenang with DAP claiming that its rival MCA is using bribes to win over more Chinese votes.

DAP believed that it had uncovered one of MCA’s operations earlier today.

DAP Election Commission observer Teo Chin Liang said the party received a tip-off and discovered the shady operation after going to SJK(C) Ai Chun to investigate the matter at about 9am.

SJK(C) Ai Chun is nearby the Tenang station polling centre, located at SMK Tenang Stesyen, near Kampung Sawah Padi.

“My colleague and I drove there and found the gate to the hall of the primary school open – it is not usually open – and there were some cars going in and out,” he said.

“Inside the hall, we saw three men, and two of them were seated,” said Teo, 64, who is also the father of MP Serdang Teo Nie Ching.

Teo said that when he went closer to the men, one of them asked him: “Who are you? Who asked you to come?”

“I replied that I was only here to look around and he appeared to be shocked. That was when I knew something was fishy and I told my colleague, who was in the car, to take some photographs,” he said.

His colleague, DAP Muar member Liew Choan Chee, said when he went in to take photographs, they wanted to grab his camera.

“But I got into the car. We saw that they were going to get violent so we told them: ‘If you do anything, in two minutes, PAS people will be here’. They left us alone,” he said.

The trio then hurriedly left the place.

When FMT surveyed a table in the school hall, there was a torn-up cash cheque of RM3,000, which was not addressed to anyone. On it was written: “MCA cawangan Tenang”.

Meanwhile, Johor DAP Youth chief Tan Hong Pin said the party was still trying to gather more proof.

“If this is not vote buying, the circumstances are very suspicious. We are trying to gather more evidence, as we don’t have enough for further action.”

Tan said that no police report would be lodged for now.

“We’re still considering it but I don’t think we should waste time at a police station. But if police are willing to take action, then it’s a different matter.”