House-to-house campaigning need permit – EC

PONTIAN: All parties and candidates contesting in the Tanjung Piai Parliamentary By-Election are reminded that house-to-house campaigning must have police permit as they too are considered as a form of campaigning.

Election Commission (EC) Chairman Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun said in addition, the walkabout program which is also considered as mobile campaigning, must have a clear time frame and location for monitoring purposes.

He said all parties or candidates involved were reminded to comply with all regulations stipulated for campaigning particularly involving permit application.

Last Monday, a meeting was held between EC officials and Pontian OCPD and his officers to coordinate and clarify issues concerning campaigning permits and regulations especially with regard to the Walkabout Programs held by all candidates or parties contesting in the election.

Azhar said in a statement yesterday that campaign materials which were seditious and provocative in nature and did not have the name and address of the printers would be brought down.

He added that flags that were placed by the roadsides and hampered or posed dangers to the public would be removed.

In the statement, Azhar said the EC and police outlined regulations on the use of party flags as well as campaigning using vehicles.

Azhar said appropriate action would also be taken regarding flags hung on vehicles while campaigning that caused danger to members of the public.

“Campaigning vehicles that were installed with flags and loudhailers and moving from one place to another place must apply for campaigning permit from the police.

According to Azhar, the EC would report information concerning statistics on offences as well as statistics on the number of police reports and reports of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) made throughout the campaigning period on Facebook, Twi er and the EC websites everyday throughout the byelection period.

“The EC hopes that all candidates and parties would carry out their campaign in a more mature manner throughout the remaining five days of campaigning so that the Tanjung Piai by-election would proceed without any undesired incidents,” he added.

Meanwhile, Opposition chief Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the new ruling seems to favour Pakatan Harapan and was unfair.

“We will look at the legal aspect. If the EC acted beyond the law, we may challenge it in court, if not for the coming Tanjung Piai by-election, then for future ones,” he said when met at Parliament lobby yesterday.

He added that representatives, who are stakeholders, were not consulted beforehand on the new ruling.

“We only received a le er informing us about the ruling,” he added.

He noted the EC should be fair to all parties and not act in favour of only one.

“I don’t understand why the ruling cropped up during the Tanjung Piai by-election, he said, questioning if the EC was making it difficult for other parties.

Ismail also said the ruling would be an added burden on police, who now have to issue permits for ceramah held at every location.

Under the previous ruling, he said the EC would merely issue a blanket permit for a candidate to hold ceramah which covered an entire constituency.

The EC has fixed Saturday as polling day for the Tanjung Piai by-election which will see a six-cornered fight involving the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Karmaine Sardini, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng, Wendy Subramaniam (Gerakan), and Datuk Dr Badhrulhisham Abdul Aziz from Barisan Jemaah Islamiah (Berjasa) as well as two Independent candidates namely Dr Ang Chuan Lock and Faridah Aryani Abd Ghaffar.

The by-election is held following the death of the incumbent Member of Parliament Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik, 42, on September 21 due to heart complication.

In the 14th General Election (GE14) the late Md Farid, who represented PH won with a majority of 524 votes to beat Wee (BN-MCA) and Nordin Othman (PAS).