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BN's claim that "phantom voters" led to the PAS victory in the Sungai Limau by-election last Monday is not true, said PAS Kedah commissioner Mahfuz Omar today.

                       

NONE"We have no resources to ferry in (phantom voters). It does not make sense.

"They can petition the results, but if this claim is true, then it means Umno is baghal (has no brain) and bahlol (stupid) for not vetting the list a long time ago," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

He said the voters, that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim yesterday claimed are "undetectable", have been voting there in multiple elections, some for up to five polls.

Shahidan also echoed Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir who said there were questionable voters at the Bukit Besar polling district where a religious school (sekolah pondok) is located.

To this, Mahfuz said the religious school has been there for at least four generations and is not "a hut to wait for durians to fall" that crops up as and when needed.

Mahfuz said that a "generational gap" meant that not all locals whom Umno party workers met to check if these voters existed knew the older voters on the list.

Further, he said, there are many voters whose families are from Sungai Limau but have since migrated. They, too, still vote in Sungai Limau.

"Like Mukhriz, who voted in Kedah when he lived in Kuala Lumpur and (Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) who lives in Seri Perdana (in Putrajaya) and votes in Pekan. Is Najib a phantom, too?" he asked.

"BN are contradicting themselves, before they said phantom voters don't exist and when they lose they say there is such a thing," he added.

He also countered Shahidan's claim that PAS supporters were rude and unruly, noting that even the Election Commission said the by-election was among the most peaceful.

The by-election, where PAS won with a slimmer majority compared to in May, saw several scuffles including an incident where a PAS supporter was alleged to have punched a Wanita Umno worker.

The incident is being probed by the police.