Billboard causing ripples in campaign taken down

SANDAKAN: A controversial billboard by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), which was dismantled by the authorities for allegedly being “seditious”, has caused ripples in the campaign.

The billboard, which claimed that Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had threatened Sandakan voters, was taken down after DAP lodged a report with the Election Commission (EC) and police.

The reports were lodged on Wednesday, said Sabah DAP publicity secretary Phoong Jin Zhe.

“We made the reports because Lim’s remarks were taken out of context,” he said.

The billboard claimed Lim had threatened Sandakan voters that he could not address the issue of insufficient parking bays at the Sandakan Hospital should its candidate Vivian Wong lose in the May 11 polls.

It was a screenshot from Astro AEC’s Mandarin news, with a Mandarin headline which translates to “Insufficient parking lots in Sandakan hospital; Lim: If we win, then find me. If we lose, there’s nothing I can do”.

Phoong said the opposition was trying to project the image that the Pakatan government was threatening the voters.

“It doesn’t mean that we won’t build the car park. That is not the case,” he said.

Wong said Lim was merely telling her to work harder to highlight this issue in Parliament.

“If I was elected as an MP, I need to bring this issue to Parliament.

“They were trying to tell me that I have to work hard to win this seat and fight for whatever we need in Sandakan,” she said.

The billboard put up at Batu 3, Jalan Utara, was taken down by EC yesterday.

“We referred the matter to the EC headquarters which deemed it as seditious and following that, we were ordered to take it down,” EC officer Asrakal Martinis said.

PBS, in claiming ownership of the billboard, meanwhile questioned the rationale behind DAP’s report.

PBS deputy president Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai said the contents of the billboard were merely a simple statement in regards to shortage of parking bays at the hospital.

“It’s basically a screenshot of a news programme from a particular TV station where it mentioned the statement of the Finance Minister.

“It also said ‘Alamak, kena marah lagi?’ (Oh no, got scolded again?). That’s all it says, so I still don’t understand why the other side lodged a police report,” he said after a meeting with the by-election Returning Officer at the Sandakan Municipal Council yesterday.

“We were rather surprised that the EC, which is an independent body, was under the directive of the police,” he said.

“Our next task is to find out from the police why was it taken down.”