JOHOR BAHRU, June 28 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) has expressed its regret over the alleged act of sabotage by certain parties who burned the coalition’s flag at the entrance to Felda Gugusan Adela in Kota Tinggi.

PH’s candidate for the Tanjung Surat state seat, Faizul Abdul Ghani, said the incident was discovered by the head of its logistics unit at about 2am today.

He said that his representative, Mohamad Saat Sukami, then lodged a report with the police and the Election Commission (EC).

“Differences in political beliefs must never be translated through provocation, sabotage or actions that undermine the culture of a mature democracy,” he said in a Facebook post today.

Faizul said PH respects the rights of all parties to campaign and have differences of opinions, but stressed that political freedom must be exercised responsibly, prudently and in accordance with the law.

He also urged supporters, party workers and local residents to remain calm and not act in ways that could breach legal boundaries, instead leaving the investigation entirely to the police and the EC.

“Election campaigns should should serve as a platform to present ideas, track records and a better future for the people, not be marred by acts of sabotage or provocation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kota Tinggi police chief Supt Yusof Othman said in a statement that police hace opened an investigation paper regarding the incident under Section 435 of the Penal Code for mischief by fire.

He said a team of officers from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Kota Tinggi Police Headquarters, with assistance from the Forensic Department of the Johor Police Headquarters, had been deployed to the location to conduct the investigation.

Yusof said police take seriously any acts of mischief, provocation or sabotage that could affect public order throughout the 16th Johor state election.

As such, he advised all parties to remain calm, campaign in a mature manner and not take any action that could cause unrest or disrupt public order during the election period.

Campaigning for the 16th Johor state election entered its second day today ollowing the completion of the nomination process yesterday. Polling is on July 11, with early voting on July 7.

For the latest updates on the 16th Johor state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/johor/. — Bernama