PETALING JAYA, Jan 29 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today stressed that the rule of law will apply with regards to a police investigation on Pakatan Harapan (PH) Cameron Highlands candidate, M. Manogaran, for an alleged offence during the by-election last Saturday.
“We apply the rule of law,” the Langkawi MP said in a short reply when asked if PH will be backing the former candidate from DAP in the course of the investigation.
The Election Commission had lodged a police report yesterday on Manogaran for entering the Sekolah Kebangsaan Senderut polling station on polling day while wearing a shirt that has a party logo which is an offence under the Election Offences Act 1945.
Manogaran was asked to leave the polling centre following his violation and he has since apologised for the issue, explaining that he did not realise he was still wearing the party shirt, which he wore throughout the campaign period.
The by-election saw Manogaran defeated by Barisan Nasional’s direct candidate, Orang Asli former police officer Ramli Mohd Nor, by a margin of over 3,000 votes
The Cameron Highlands poll was the first won by BN since its general election defeat and provided a glimpse into the possible political shift that could be achieved through an organised partnership with Islamist party PAS.
