KUALA BESUT Kuala Besut Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek says he is "saddened but respects" the Election Commission's (EC) not to allow the state broadcaster RTM to air the Kuala Besut by-election's ballot counting process.

"We have discussed and I have stated my stance that the people needs to see the process ‘live' because many do not understand (the process), but the EC has its own considerations.

"Since the EC is an independent body, I can't order them," he said at a press conference today after inspecting the Kuala Besut media centre set up by his ministry for reporters covering the by-election.

NONE However, he said state media organisations would continue to provide coverage for other aspects of the by-election, including the latest official tally of the votes.

Shabery ( right ) had previously mooted for the live broadcast , saying, "Should there be a blackout and if there (are people who ask) where and when it happened, they can view it live (on television)."

However, EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof responded that this is unnecessary because there are already counting agents representing each candidate at every polling station, and the EC would have to accommodate similar requests from other media agencies if it allows RTM to air the process.

To a question, Shaberry said he has no issues for RTM to provide coverage for PAS' campaign trail.

"No problem, I would leave it to RTM, but for other media and papers, I don't know.

"For other papers, I have given instructions to give coverage to what they think has news value. Professional consideration must be given, not the minister's consideration, based on news value," he said.

He added that RTM already provides live broadcast of parliamentary debates for all parties, and this shows that it is willing provide coverage to anything of news value.

'Shy to ask'

PAS Kuala Besut by-election director Husam Musa had told the media the he hopes for RTM's coverage during a press conference on nomination day.

"Don't just show footage but have some soundbites; good ones. But we are too shy to ask because that is exclusively for the ruling party," he said in a sarcastic tone.

NONE Husam ( right ) had also claimed that BN Kuala Besut deputy by-election director Idris Jusoh and Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said are at odds, and a PAS victory here would undermine Ahmad's position and benefit Idris.

When asked about this, Shabbery said this is an old trick that nobody is falling for.

He said a similar tactic was used during the Galas by-election of 2010 to give the impression that the then BN campaign director Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Umno Kelantan chief Mustapha Mohamad were at odds.

"Thank God that not only we won, we won again with a larger majority in the parliamentary constituency of Gua Musang (which encompasses Galas) in the general election after that.

"Therefore the issue of who takes what position are not the main issues in Besut," he said, while adding that there are many Umno leaders from here who are big names, but this is not the case for PAS.

Meanwhile at a separate press conference at the local PAS headquarters, its central election director Dr Hatta Ramli said the party would not use Umno's internal conflicts to campaign.

Husam had also reportedly clarified that he did not mean to pit the two Umno leaders against each other.

Additional reporting by Lee Long Hui.