TELUK INTAN, May 29 — Datuk Mah Siew Keong urged his political rivals today to report any election offences to the Elections Commission (EC) if they have proof of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) wrongdoings.

This comes as the BN candidate for Teluk Intan by-election denied DAP’s allegation that he was attempting to buy ethnic Indian votes by distributing rice at the coalition’s event yesterday.

According to Mah, he was only a guest at a Perbadanan Nasional Malaysia (PNS) event and had promptly left when he saw the agency’s director-general distributing hampers to the public, to ensure he was not implicated in any election offence.

“This is done by an agency. Instead of making allegations against me, go and make an SPR report,” Mah said here, referring to the EC by its Malay initials.

“Let SPR investigate. Let’s investigate facts, better. If you make allegations but no report, you’re trying to spin stories.”

Earlier today, Pasir Bedamar assemblyman Terence Naidu said he and Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran saw bags of rice being handed out to the predominantly Indian crowd at a BN function at Jalan Laksamana here yesterday.

Naidu said Mah was present during the event and shook hands with the people.

DAP’s Teluk Intan campaign director Tony Pua also said at the news conference that the incident contradicted Mah’s early pledge to run a campaign without free gifts or lucky draws.

At a recent BN event at Taman Desa Bakti, hampers containing basic food items like flour, sugar and milk powder were handed out to a mostly ethnic-Indian crowd.

Mah has distanced himself from the gift giving, claiming that he hadn’t organised the events,.

“Every night there are small rallies everywhere … I can’t go around checking all these things,” Mah said.

Mah, 53, will take on DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, 26, in a straight fight on May 31.