KAJANG, March 18 — Opposition party PKR has claimed that mobile phone accounts belonging to key party members have been compromised and used to send damaging propaganda.

The mobile account numbers of 11 PKR members of parliament and party workers were used to send out “subtle” text messages to voters in Kajang ahead of the by-election here on March 23, party leaders told reporters at a press conference.

The mobile phone accounts of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar, Chua Tian Chang, Fuziah Salleh and party youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin were among those allegedly compromised.

"The messages which were sent using our phone numbers were clearly done to show infighting in Pakatan,” Fuziah Salleh, the MP for Kuantan said.

"In terms of psychological warfare, it’s meant to create doubt among Kajang voters… why should people vote Pakatan when their leaders are disunited?," she added.

Fuziah said she received dozens of calls and messages from voters furious after receiving messages purportedly sent by her that could damage PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's chances in the by-election.

Denying that any of the texts came from her, Fuziah said the then suspected that her mobile account had been hacked.

One such message reads: “Where has the Selangor PAS women's wing gone to? Why is it only the Perak and Johor wing that are doing work in Kajang?"

Another message played on racial sensitivities, "Do not allow PAS to enter Chinese areas. The Chinese here do not like PAS."

"This is an invasion of privacy. We can being framed for doing things we did not do," Fuziah added.

PKR has lodged two police reports over the matter. It also plans to file complaints with the telecommunications providers and Malaysia’s communications watchdog, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

"We are also considering a lawsuit against the telco companies as this affects security and privacy....we will have to first consult our lawyers," Fuziah said.

The March 23 will see a straight fight between Dr Wan Azizah and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.

The PKR president was announced as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's replacement in the Kajang by-election, following the court of appeal's decision to overturn the PKR de facto leader's acquittal for charges of sodomy.

Anwar has been sentenced to five years in  jail but has filed an appeal at the Federal court to challenge the latest ruling.

The opposition leader has insisted that the charges and the decision were fixed to prevent him from winning in Kajang.