PERMATANG PAUH, May 5 — Umno’s Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi denied today accusations that Barisan Nasional (BN) has been making late-night visits to voters to bribe them during the Permatang Pauh by-election.
The Umno vice-president said PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli was imagining things by making such claims.
“As a brilliant political strategist, he is most capable of using this (allegation) as a political strategy for his party,” Zahid, who is also the home minister, said in a press conference after attending a Workers Day gathering at Politeknik Seberang Perai here.
“I am sure that he is doing his best for his party,” he added.
Yesterday, Rafizi accused BN of changing its campaign methods by going on late night house-to-house visits, possibly to offer bribes to voters.
The PKR secretary-general claimed that BN campaigners have been visiting voters after 10pm.
He claimed these late night visits were made secretively and this raised suspicions on why these door-to-door visits were made in such a furtive manner.
“Are those late night visits used as a cover for their old tactics of bribing and buying votes by giving money to voters?” Rafizi had asked in a press conference yesterday.
He had also called on the Election Commission (EC) to check on these activities and to monitor the BN campaigners involved in them.
It is the last two days of campaigning for the four candidates contesting in the by-election, with polling day set for Thursday.
BN’s newcomer Suhaimi Sabudin, PRM’s Azman Shah Othman and independent Salleh Isahak are in a four-corner fight, trying to wrest the PKR stronghold seat from PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
