BN Bribed Sarawak Voters With RM50 On The Eve Of The Elections?
There are also allegations of 'free' meal, and prizes being offered to voters who were encouraged to support the incumbent coalition.
By Sadho Ram — 07 May 2016, 07:04 PM
In an apparent vote buying, residents of Tasik Biru were given money by village headman – up to RM50 each – to attend BN events in the state constituency, claims election watchdog
In a press release, election watchdog Pemantau noted that there were multiple reports by local residents of being given RM 20 – RM 50 to attend events and vote for Barisan National candidates
Meanwhile, also blaming the Election Commission (EC) for failing in its duties, the group's committee member Lena Hendry said, "The EC has failed to ensure that the Sarawak election is conducted in a clean, free and fair way. We urge EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah to resign immediately for failing in his duties."
As part of threats and intimidations, villagers at Kampung Duyuh were told that tourism promotions may be withheld for their Dayak Bidayuh longhouse if they did not vote for the BN candidate
The people who vote for the opposition were described as "bodoh" multiple times in a speech by Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Tourism and Culture, claims Pemantau. BN’s Henry and DAP’s Mordi Bimol were contesting from Tasik Biru.
Additionally, Professor of Political Science at Ipek University, Bridget Welsh, also claimed that similarly to GE 2013, the Sarawak polls has featured regular 'free' dinners organised by BN officials wearing their signature navy blue
"Thousands are given a free meal, and prizes are raffled off as voters are encouraged to support the incumbent coalition. Many leave with a door prize of RM1,000 or even higher," she wrote in her five-part series being published by Malaysiakini.
"What distinguishes vote buying this election is that rather than just focus on the Dayak communities and in rural constituencies, more funds are being allocated for Chinese voters and in semi-urban areas," she added.