Letter to federal gov't dept a mistake, says EC

 

According to the Pengkalan Kubor by-election returning officer Mohd Sobri Ramli, the letter ( left ) was actually intended for the Kelantan State Information Secretariat, which is under the jurisdiction of the PAS state government, and not for the Kelantan Information Department, which is under the federal government’s jurisdiction. 

 

The billboard, which EC wanted to be taken down, was put up by PAS and it questions why the Kelantanese people were being denied oil royalty by the federal government. 

 

However, the letter was mistakenly sent to the federal Information Department in the state, asking it to take down a billboard stating the federal government’s stand on the issue of the oil royalty. 

 

“The letter to the Information Department was a mistake. It was supposed to have been addressed to the state information secretariat, which is under the (PAS) state government.

 

“The state EC made a mistake. We will issue the right letter soon,” Sobri said. 

 

The letter from the EC, dated Sept 22, was addressed to the Kelantan Information Department and a copy was sent to PAS. 

 

In the letter, it was stated that the contents of the billboard “may cause rising of bad emotions or create animosity among certain individuals or groups”.

 

It asked the Information Department to take down the billboard explaining the federal government’s stand on the royalty issue.

 

PAS used the “mistaken” letter to insist that its opponent Barisan Nasional take down its billboards.