Summary

  • PN accuses Perak government of exploiting state resources to campaign for BN in the Ayer Kuning by-election.

  • PAS MP Misbahul Munir Masduki says a report will be lodged with the Election Commission.

  • He urges authorities to tell the rakyat how much public funds were spent on such supposed activities.

AYER KUNING POLLS | Perikatan Nasional has urged the Perak government to detail the amount of public funds allegedly utilised to support BN’s bid for the Ayer Kuning state seat.

PAS lawmaker Misbahul Munir Masduki claimed that the state administration has exploited government resources to promote BN’s candidate for the by-election.

“The state’s Strategic Communication Unit was clearly seen being used to assist the campaign for BN’s candidate,” he told a press conference at the opposition coalition’s operations centre in Bidor, Perak.

“We urge the Perak government to clarify how much public money was misused to bring in state government staffers to carry out campaign work for BN’s candidate.”

The Parit Buntar MP also provided the media with screenshots of images he said were sourced from the unit’s social media pages.

Checks by Malaysiakini showed that the images were uploaded to Facebook by the unit yesterday to showcase the Program Taqqarub Perak Sejahtera 2025 initiative.

In its caption for the post, the unit said the programme is aimed at delivering information to the rakyat on development plans the state government is undertaking.

Fulfil promises

Misbahul, who is also PN’s campaign director for the Ayer Kuning by-election, called on the federal government to fulfil the promises and principles of reform Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had often championed previously.

“PMX, please ‘walk the talk’. Where are the reforms you promised the people?” he questioned.

He added that PN will be lodging a report with the Election Commission (EC) on BN’s alleged violation of the Elections Act 1958.

However, PAS Youth information chief Nadzir Helmi Azhar, who was also present at the press conference, expressed concerns over a potential lack of action from the EC towards PN’s grouses.

He highlighted that this is not the first time the government has been accused of electoral misconduct, pointing to when several federal ministers had promised aid and development projects if they secured victory at various elections.

Nga’s controversial move

Most recently, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming drew backlash over his announcement of an RM6.13 million allocation for the development projects in the Tapah parliamentary constituency, which includes the Ayer Kuning state seat.

Several quarters, including PSM’s Ayer Kuning hopeful Bawani KS and electoral watchdog Bersih, had accused Nga of vote buying and abuse of power.

Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming

In defending Nga, Anwar highlighted that the announcement was made before the official nomination day for the by-election.

Commenting on the matter, Nadzir suggested the establishment of a new rule banning allocation announcements for areas facing a by-election.

Nadzir said the rule should come into force the moment a parliamentary or state seat is vacated.

Ayer Kuning voters are set to cast their votes on April 26, with BN fielding Tapah Umno secretary Yusri Bakir while PN has opted to put forth Tapah PN chief Abd Muhaimin Malek.