Kelab Aku Budak Chow Kit (KABCK) admits that it has no love for Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani, but could not confirm nor deny whether its members were responsible for a string of banners targeting the Titiwangsa MP in his constituency.

KABCK chairperson Ahmad Ayob Ramli said the club has many members in the capital city and he could not vouch for the actions of all of them.

"I can't say 'yes' nor can I say 'no', as we have members everywhere in Kuala Lumpur.

"But indeed, I do not like Johari because he has disappointed Titiwangsa voters. Many of our club members are voters in Titiwangsa.

"He refuses to make an appearance every time we organise an event, yet he attends events organised by outsiders. He prioritises outsiders rather than his own voters.

"We have long been stumped by the attitude of leaders who are arrogant and feel too comfortable in their positions," he told Malaysiakini.

‘ArrogantJoe’

Johari had decried the banners as "character assassination," and blamed a certain individual within the local Umno division, whom he said had aspirations to usurp him as the Titiwangsa MP.

The offending banners read: "We the Umno grassroots request that the prime minister chooses a candidate other than Johari" and "Say No to DJ (Datuk Johari)", "RejectJohari" and "ArrogantJoe".

The banners were linked to KABCK after photographs of a group of youth donning T-shirts with the words "Asal Bukan Joe Ghani #ABJ" were circulated on social media.

Also on the T-shirts were the words "KABCK," in an apparent reference to the club.

Yesterday, Titiwangsa Umno deputy chief Affendi Zahari lodged a police report over the banners.

Titiwangsa is two of the 11 seats in Kuala Lumpur held by Umno. The other is Setiawangsa, while the rest are under DAP (five seats) and PKR (four seats).