PKR election committee dismisses hidden hands claim in polls

Summary

• PKR Election Committee chief Dr Zaliha Mustafa dismisses concerns that hidden hands were influencing polling results at the party division level.

• This follows questions raised about split results across competing teams.

• She stresses that the election process is being monitored closely, including by an auditor.

The PKR Election Committee has dismissed claims of hidden hands causing "split outcomes" across competing teams during the ongoing party polls.

Its chief Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the committee, however, welcomed party members to lodge complaints about their suspicion, assuring that it will look into every issue raised about the election process.

Speaking to reporters in Putrajaya, she said the committee has been working directly with the company that developed the PKR online election system.

The polling process, Zaliha added, is also being monitored closely by an audit firm that looks at every step of the polling process.

"So, as far as I can see throughout the election process, I have not seen what some people claimed as 'hidden hands'.

"Because we are monitoring the polling thoroughly," she said during a door-stop interview after launching an anti-corruption seminar.

Zaliha was asked to respond to questions raised by several PKR leaders and members following the conclusion of division-level pollings for party chapters in seven states.

‘We don’t know who is who in chai’

They claimed some discrepancies resulted in "split outcomes" across competing teams, where multiple divisions had outcomes in which a team leader - their candidate for division chief - lost, while almost everyone else on the team won.

This inadvertently led to scenarios in which a team leader won despite most of their team losing.

In response to this, Zaliha said the election committee members also do not know which candidate belongs to which "chai" (camp).

"We do not know who is who, or who is this candidate's leader and who is part of their 'chai'.

"While we might know that this person or that person is a party member, the party has many members.

“I am not saying that we dismiss this (concern) 100 percent, but we will look into every complaint made and grouses aired by party members," she added.

No compromise on bribes

Asked about allegations of PKR candidates offering bribes in exchange for votes, Zaliha urged party members to come forward and lodge a complaint to the committee through their website.

She stressed the committee does not compromise on such issues and will investigate.

"If we have to, we will take strong action against such elements of money politics.

"Such incidents should not happen (in PKR), because we are doing this election to choose party leaders and they have to be individuals who have integrity and good governance, so they can also lead the country the best way possible."

Yesterday, it was reported that a video surfaced allegedly showing a key candidate in Batu MP P Prabakaran's team telling someone off-camera that they would get RM100 if they voted for those on the MP's team.

In the video, the woman is heard saying that RM100 in "duit raya" would be distributed at an iftar gathering the week before Aidilfitri, and that RM100 would also be paid on voting day.

Prabakaran, who is defending his seat as the Batu PKR division chief, has since denied his involvement in the matter.

The woman in the video, Fatin Izzaty Muhammad, who is contesting for the Batu PKR Youth chief post, has also claimed that she was "set up".

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