Streram revving up election machinery on the ground

PETALING JAYA: The two GE14 candidates for Rantau, Negri Sembilan, are claiming that they are the best candidates their parties can field for the state assembly and are wasting no time revving their machinery on the ground, while the Election Commission (EC) watches from afar.

“I am the best candidate there is. I don’t think I am indispensable but I have been the caretaker of the state assembly of Rantau for the past two and half years.

“I don’t think they can get a better candidate than me,” said Dr S. Streram of PKR.

This confidence was further boosted yesterday when he won his case to nullify the win by Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan of Umno.

The Special Election Court had ruled as null and void the unopposed election of Mohamad as the assemblyman in the 14th General Election (GE14) in May.

Mohamad has 14 days to appeal the court’s decision.

His lawyer Abu Bakar Isa Ramat said that he is awaiting instructions from his client and can only confirm if Mohamad would be filing an appeal on Monday.

Dr Streram, who was denied entry to submit his form on Nomination Day on April 28 because he did not have an EC tag or pass, had named Mohamad as the first respondent, Rembau parliamentary constituency returning officer Amino Agus Suyub as the second respondent, and the EC as the third respondent.

He said that he will be meeting PKR president-elect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today at the party’s convention to present to him with the court decision and get the party’s official green light for him to stand in the Rantau by-election.

Dr Streram said that he will not wait for the 14-day appeal period to be over before he kickstarts his election machinery on the ground.

“I am starting right now and starting immediately. The machinery is already in place.

“Even the appeal will likely be in our favour. Mohamad can claim he is confident of winning but on that worst day of my life on April 28, when they stopped me from entering the nomination centre, I already had the support.

“I am very confident of winning. The general population of Rantau is with me,” he claimed.

However, PKR vice-president hopeful Zuraida Kamaruddin suggested that the Rantau by-election should be contested by a female candidate from Pakatan Harapan.

According to Zuraida, this was because no female candidates had been considered for the state seat in GE14.

“Since I’m a woman leader in PKR, I would propose a Negri Sembilan girl because voters there are particular about having a locally-born candidate,” she said.

Former Rantau state assemblyman Mohamad, who has been given the go-ahead to stand in the pending by-election by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, is also upbeat about his chances of victory.

He said that he is very sure that the state assembly seat will be his, contested or uncontested, and it will be a sweeter victory if he gets a good majority.

“Do not ask the obvious questions,” said Mohammad when asked if he was ready to put up a good fight for the seat.

“I do not care about the majority but the win will be sweeter if I get a good majority.

“I hope the voters here will remember what I have done and judge me by my record.

“My machinery has always been on the ground, and I hope I will be able to retain my seat,” he said.

Mohamad, also the former mentri besar of Negri Sembilan, said he is all set to ensure that the seat remains his, as it has been for the past 14 years.

He added that he knows that it would be a different battle this time around because he is now with the opposition, but refuses to let this dampen his spirit in any way because Rantau is his “turf ”.

On whether he will have the full arsenal of Umno and the Barisan Nasional coalition behind him for this by-election, Mohamad said he does not see why not.

“You cannot equate a by-election with the general election,” he said, adding that nonetheless, he was prepared to go into the battlefield on his own.

Meanwhile, EC chairman Azhar Harun said there was only so much that the EC can do to stop the two parties from starting their campaigns despite an election having yet to be announced.

“The Election Offences Act only applies when there is an election. Currently, there isn’t one.

“So, if for example, parties want to put up flags now, that would come under the purview of the local council. Or if parties want to hold rallies, that would come under the Police Act.

“The EC starts coming in (only) once a writ of election has been issued.

“It’s a matter of jurisdiction. Our jurisdiction kicks in once an election is called, not before,” he told The Star.

However, Azhar said that whether early campaigning could be the grounds of a challenge in an election petition later would be an untested issue in the Malaysian context.

“In England, there are judicial pronouncements that if, for example, bribery takes place before an election is called but while an election is imminent, that would still be an election offence,” he explained.

PETALINg JAYA: The question of public funds being wasted for a by-election does not arise in the case of the Rantau state seat, which the court just ruled as vacant, says the Election Commission (EC).

Its chairman Azhar Harun said there is no question of wastage if a by-election is called when an Election Court finds that an election is void.

“When an election is found to be void, there would not be a representative for that constituency and therefore a by-election is necessary to elect one,” he said when contacted.

Azhar noted that there are 14 days to appeal the decision.

“A by-election must be called within 60 days from the receipt of a certificate from the Election Court with respect to its decision.

“The Court stated that no certificate will be issued until 14 days lapse from the day of the decision, to give an opportunity for any party to appeal to the Federal Court,” he said.

In his election petition, Dr Streram sought for a by-election to be held for the Rantau seat as its incumbent had not won the seat legitimately.

Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 welcomed the judgment delivered by judge Azimah Omar but also called for the Rantau returning officer to be charged for breach of duty.