Good public response to the Malacca Pakatan Rakyat voter registration drive had driven a green-eyed Bukit Katil Umno Youth to disrupt the event, claims Malacca PAS information chief Sofi Wahab.

“I am confident that Umno Youth’s actions was due to jealousy due to the overwhelming public response to register as voters. In a month, we’ve help registered 1,000 new voters,” said Sofi in a statement today.

umno youth violent attack at dap event in melaka market 030709 03 Sofi was referring to the Taman Melaka Baru night market fracas on Thursday which saw some 40 Bukit Katil Umno Youth members trying to physically stop a group of PAS and DAP members from registering new voters.

Bukit Katil Umno Youth secretary Safrie Abdullah told Malaysiakini yesterday claimed his members were provoked by the opposition supporters and that they were recruiting members at an “inappropriate venue”.

In reply, Sofi accused Safrie of lying about being provoked and claimed that PAS and DAP members did not react despite verbal abuses hurled by the Umno Youth members.

Sofi also denied Safrie’s claim that PAS and DAP were recruiting party members at the venue.

“Sufrie’s allegation was in bad faith and untrue. Not a single membership application form was with us during that event,” said Sofi.

Ali Rustam’s division

He defended the legitimacy of the voter registration exercise, adding that several PAS and DAP members at the event carried authority cards issued by the Election Commission.

umno youth violent attack at dap event in melaka market 030709 02 During the Thursday night incident, a table used for the voter registration exercise was smashed by Umno Youth members before several plainclothes police personnel intervened.

However, Ayer Keroh state assemblyperson Khoo Poay Tiong from DAP was lightly injured in the process.

Subsequently, PAS and DAP members lodged eight police reports against Bukit Katil Umno Youth over the incident.

umno youth violent attack at dap event in melaka market 030709 04 Bukit Katil Umno division is led by Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam, a former Umno vice-president, who was barred from contesting in the party polls this year after he was found guilty of vote-buying.

It is not the first time that Umno Youth has been accused of going on a rampage.

On Tuesday, four Selangor Umno Youth leaders were fined by a parliamentary special committee after being found guilty of being involved in a Feb 26 fracas with Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh in Parliament’s lobby.