Monday, May 23

Who is buying who?

Recently two articles have appeared in this blog regarding money politics in the Tamin state constituency exposing how money politics was used to defeat the PKR candidate.

And the party doing it was allegedly Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) together with BN campaigners and agents.

Bounced cheques each with a value of RM15,000 were issued to some 80 percent of 220 Tuai Rumahs. When the Tuai Rumah presented the cheques to a bank, the bank found some ‘errors’ on the cheques - either the names were wrongly spelt, their ICs were incomplete or names not according to ICs, etc, etc.

Funnily, the bank instead of advising the Tuai Rumahs to go to the persons who issued the cheques detained and retained the cheques. Has the bank got the right to retain the cheques?

Another story was also recently published on the distribution of money to buy votes.

Now the same PRS is filing an election petition to declare the Independent candidate George Lagong’s electoral victory in Pelagus as ‘null and void’ as it accused George of using money to buy votes.

Isn’t this funny that PRS-BN is pointing fingers at an independent for using money to buy votes? In other 70 state constituencies, the fingers are pointing at the BN parties.

The petition was filed on Friday 20 May at the Sibu High Court, and if PRS is successfully in declaring the seat ‘null and void’, then there will be another election in the constituency.

Should this happen, another chance of vote-buying is in the offing. The real ‘winners’ will be the voters!

5 comments:

Sri Belalang said...

PRS`s action was proper when they filed an election petition at high court when they suspected or had a proof that the election of an independent candidate to be void as result of alleged votes buying or corrupt practice. They did not go the media to complaint as most people did.

Focussed said...

Come on James. Is it necessary to deplay the retractable election petition against George Lagong at this stage?

If you need him to make up the numbers (of YBs) in your party and justify your DCMship, i believe you can just make a phone call, fix up an appoinment and talk to him nicely as combrade.

Previously, you did not have problem fixing Ms. Doris (andrew Wayne's ex wife) from potential candidate to Senatorship, Nissom as the record holder of Political Secretarialship in Sarawak and Wilson Ugak from Political Secretary downgraded to private Secretary. George is a reasonable man and you know that.

Another factor is both Philimon and Wilson Nyabong were aspirants for the Pelagus seat. Maybe a bit of second thoughts is necessary as whatever action you may take is crucial and reflects a lot on your leadership.

But the far fetching implication of which you may not like is a fact that only larry sng can deliver the seat for BN as of now!Should a by-election becomes necessary CM may be forced to put larry as the candidate for BN. Will it not defeat your purpose?

Forget about your promise of 100% delivery before the election. Mawan lost 2 seats and made no qualm of it. So what?

Anonymous said...

Vote buying was already practiced in 1969. It was just RM5.00 per voter and slightly more for the headman then. As as young kid I was curious to know what was going on when a candidate was ushered into TR bilek. I climbed to longhouse "sadau" and peeped down through bamboo partition into TR bilek. It was the first time I saw a candidate and his men handing RM5.00 note to longhouse folks. My father got RM10.00 (RM5.00 being my mother's share). I think TR got slightly more.

Thus, vote buying is nothing new in Sarawak. All political parties and their candidates doing it. The only different is the amount they gave. Now it is RM500.00 per voter on the average.

If vote buying is illegal then all the past SE in Sarawak are "null and void"?

Apai irau said...

Masing's action is just to cover his mistake for failing to make a wise political moneuvour when he dropped sgn jr.So,somebody has to be blamed and its G.lagong's money.Simple as that.Its not because of money politics but because of his ego.Dont tell primary one pupil that Masing is not involve in corruption in every erection.Pot called the kettle black,Masing himself likes that phrase.Hypocrite to the hell.

Anonymous said...

Masing is now saying PRS has been fighting elections in 2006, 2008 and 2011 on a shoe string budget. And he is also saying that PRS should be better funded for future elections. This mindset may explains why PRS is now petitioning against the victor in the elections to the Pelagus constituency i.e to show PRS now has no money! It might also explains that probably money><money PRS loses out to an Independent, can it be? Or is it to do with Larry Sng has had a hand in the Pelagus result?. Were that the latter scenario did take place then it would mean that the voters there are couldn't careless about other things other than money. This in turn will signal that PRS who has been vocalising on Dayak sentiment will find that its relevance will dissipate, and will be replaced with money, no money no vote? Maybe it like the saying "you reap what you sow". PRS/BN are always saying that only BN has the money to develop and bring projects to people. Yes, once this notion has caught on the quest for money and more money by the voters will be difficult to contain and money politics wil take to rule.

Lastly, the petition by PRS/BN like they have always won against such petitions taken up against victor BN, this one they will lose it too i.e. unless (like all things now are swayable to and by BN) they can persuade the court to decide differently from past decisions that trended on the precept that "don't change what the peoples have decided". To prove corruption is like a camel to enter the needle's eye, truly.