A PKR Senator Threatened To Not Pay Orang Asli Their Salaries If They Don't Vote For Govt
Bob Manolan Mohd warned the Orang Asli chiefs in Cameron Highlands earlier today, 11 January.
By Jia Vern Tham — 11 Jan 2019, 06:04 PM
Earlier today, 11 January, a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) senator warned Orang Asli village chiefs that their salaries will not be paid if they do not vote for Pakatan Harapan in the upcoming Cameron Highlands by-election
Bob Manolan Mohd threatened the chiefs, known as Tok Batin, during a question-and-answer session at a dialogue between the two parties today.
He also threatened the security of the chiefs' posts.
"(Tok) batin are paid by the federal government, therefore, batin must support (Pakatan) Harapan," Bob was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini today.
"If they don't support, we discard them... we will not pay salary. It's true! We will not pay them. If we pay them but they don't support us, why should we pay them?" the senator added.
The Orang Asli make up nearly 22% of the number of voters in Cameron Highlands
The community will be voting in the by-election, which will be held on 26 January.
Pahang DAP deputy chairperson M Manogaran will be representing Pakatan Harapan in the by-election, while Barisan Nasional is fielding an Orang Asli and former top cop Ramli Mohd Noor.
Malay Mail reported that Ramli, an Orang Asli from Cameron Highlands himself, was a former senior police officer and assistant commissioner of police.
The by-election was triggered following a decision by the Election Court in November 2018
On 30 November 2018, the Election Court declared Barisan Nasional's victory in Cameron Highlands as null and void, reported New Straits Times.
Former Cameron Highlandds MP Datuk C. Sivarraajh had denied any elements of bribery following the court ruling.