KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional’s second Election Court loss for bribery is worrying said a Pakatan Harapan leader as the coalition’s main party, PAS, claims to champion Islamic ideals.
“This is quite a worrying trend. In terms of election results, we leave it to the Election Commission (EC), but in terms of its political implications, it’s a cause for concern,” said Pakatan Harapan Communications Director Fahmi Fadzil (pic).
Perikatan’s victory in the Kemaman parliamentary seat during the recent 15th General Election (GE15) was nullified yesterday after the Election Court found that elements of bribery had taken place during the campaign.
Perikatan’s Che Alias Hamid had won the parliamentary seat by a 27,000-vote majority during GE15 in which he defeated candidates from Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan.
The court decision comes barely two months after a similar court nullified the coalition’s GE15 victory in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat.
“If bribery is considered a corrupt practice, how can a party (PAS) that claims to champion Islam not see anything wrong?” Fahmi said as reported by Bernama.
Fahmi, who is also Minister of Communications and Digital, said, the Unity Government pact is taking a wait-and-see approach for now.
In the Kemaman case, judge Datuk Anselm Charles Fernandis said the petitioner, Wan Mohamad Hisham Wan Abdul Jalil, a voter, succeeded in proving that corruption had taken place with the aim of influencing voters in the election.
Fernandis then nullified the victory of Perikatan MP Che Alias and ruled that Perikatan has until Oct 3 to appeal yesterday’s decision.
