DAY 5 TELUK INTAN What’s happening in the by-election campaign in the parliamentry constituency of Teluk Intan? Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidents as they take place.
9.44pm: Police today arrested a man who allegedly threatened to kill a politician, reports Bernama .
Hilir Perak district police chief Supt Mohd Zaki Harun says the suspect was believed to have uttered the threat at the operations room of a political party at Taman Ratna, Jalan Changkat Jong in Teluk Intan on Wednesday at 4am.
He says the suspect aged 50 was detained by a Perak Cantas Khas and Bukit Aman Cantas team at Durian Tunggal, Malacca the same day.
“Based on investigations, the suspect has five previous criminal cases. He has been remanded for two days,” Mohd Zaki tells reporters at the district police headquarters in Teluk Intan today.
He says it was the first arrest since campaigning started for the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election on Monday.
4pm: DAP candidate Dyana Sofia Mohd Daud condems Communications and Multmedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek (right) for promising to upgrade broadband in Teluk Intan if the BN candidate wins the by-election.
"No matter who wins the election, it's still the government's responsibility to upgrade broadband not only in Teluk Intan, but nationwide," she says in a press conference.
She says Malaysia, with a broadband speed of 5.48 megabytes per second (Mbps), is now lagging behind Cambodia and Vietnam which recorded speeds of 5.9Mbps and 14.2Mbps respectively, and such responsibility lies under the ministry.
Ahmad Shabery Cheek said yesterday that the ministry is prepared to assist in improving broadband facilities in Teluk Intan as aspired by the younger generation in the area.
3.45pm: Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran claims the BN have hampers worth about RM150 each to families at the Nova Scotia Estate in Teluk Intan.
This took place yesterday, Kulasegaran says, whenn he was leading a team of volunteers to the estate. He saw people returning from a BN function, with each family carrying a hamper.
“Under the Election Offences Act, any form of grafting to buy votes is an offence. But the relevant enforcing department rarely enforces the law against the BN wrong doers.
“ I am sure this form of corrupt act is very prevalent. The Election Commission and law enforces must take action on the people who are involved in such questionable acts,” he says.
Kulasegaran also urges BN supporters to stop gangster and bullying behaviour in their campaign following their efforts to intimidate DAP canddiate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.
2.30pm: DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang slams BN candidate Mah Siew Keong for his shocking advice, which may lead to a split in Teluk Intan families.
"He is asking the voters and parents in Teluk Intan not to be influenced by their children when they come back, because they will urge their parents to vote DAP and Pakatan," he says.
"For the first time, there is a candidate openly encouraging family disharmony, to quarrel with their children," he says, adding that such advice was shocking.
"This is because family harmony is an Asian value and tradition, I am shocked by such open advice to tell them just to ignore their youngsters' views.
"This is a sign that BN is getting very desperate, where this battle has been seen as Umno versus DAP," he says.
12.30pm: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin meets the Orang Asli voters at Sungai Semak, which is about 80 kilometres from Teluk Intan town centre.
The village has 121 registered voters and is a BN stronghold, says the village chief Sudin Sinar ( left ).
"I told (Muhyiddin) that the opposition never comes here because the orang asli here only trust the government,” he tells Malaysiakini .
11am: Gerakan today blames DAP's ceramah which conveyed hate messages as the cause of its candidate Mah Siew Keong’s poster being vandalised and attempts being made to disrupt its election campaign.
“The candidate’s giant poster in Changkat Jong (was vandalised), one of the reason may have been because DAP or its allies or supporters hate BN’s representatives due to ceramah which criticised (BN) heavily,” says Liew Pok Boon, assistant youth chief of Gerakan’s operations centre.
A man clad in a red T-shirt with a DAP flag attached to his bicycle rode in front of Gerakan’s ceramah stage five times, and this is seen as an attempt to disrupt Gerakan’s campaign.
“DAP feels scared, (causing some people) to commit such disreputable acts,” he says.
“I am urging and begging Teluk Intan folk to protect the election campaign and the posters of this local-bred person,” he says in an obvious mimicry of DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang who had a few days back said DAP needed to protect its candidate Dyana from Umno.
11am: A truck bearing a huge poster of Teluk Intan’s leaning tower and BN candidate Mah Siew Keong is spotted at Bandar Baru, one of the livelier towns in the constituency.
The truck blares a recording that runs on a loop in Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, introducing Mah as a local and experienced politician, as well as boasts of his track record.
A Gerakan operation centre staff, who only wants to be known as Tan, says the truck travels around the constituency in order to promote Mah’s strength as a former MP and deputy minister.
10.20am: BN secretary Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor promises the Indian community that a crematorium and a hall will be built in Teluk Intan should Mah win the by-election.
"I ask the voters here to give Mah a chance. When the late MP (Seah Leong Ping) won the seat, development did not come to this area," he says at the Gerakan operations centre.
He says BN leaders on the campaign trail are ordered to equip themselves with knowledge on voter’s aspirations and problems, and assures that BN will try address these matters.
"The Indian community here need a crematorium, the people need a hall for marriage purposes. We will develop these when we win" he says.
9.30am: BN candidate Mah Siew Keong urges Teluk Intan voters not to be influenced by their children, who work outstation, while casting their ballots.
According to Sin Chew Daily , Mah says the children, who stay and work in other cities, do not know the local issues and problems in the constituency.
In the last general election, he points out, many outstation voters returned and influenced the voting choice among the elderly.
"Your children wouldn't know that (issues), when you need service, you need a local representative," he says.
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