PH leaders urged to follow all rules when campaigning

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has advised Pakatan Harapan leaders to abide by all rules and regulations in the ongoing Tanjung Piai by-election campaign.

The PKR president said leaders and the Pakatan candidate must avoid breaching any regulation such as campaigning in schools.

“If there are rules, we need to follow. I cannot confirm whether it happened but we need to follow the rules and ethics and the Election Commission (EC) is also monitoring, ” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub had reportedly held a closed-door meeting to woo the support of teachers of a vernacular school in Tanjung Piai.

Asked what the next course of action should be, Anwar, who is Permatang Pauh MP, said: “If it happened, we need to advise so it will not be repeated.”

Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki had on Tuesday also criticised Salahuddin, who is Parti Amanah Negara deputy president, for his speech in the school which he deemed as racist, and urged the EC to act against Salahuddin.

Salahuddin responded by insisting that he did not play up racial sentiments in his speech.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik was yesterday asked about a RM5,000 contribution by Salahuddin to SJK (C) Pei Chio Kukup Laut near Tanjung Piai.

Maszlee declined to comment when pressed further if it was right for political campaigns to be held in schools.

He also refused to comment on Salahuddin’s speech in which he had allegedly said that the country would be in chaos if Barisan Nasional returned to power.