Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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(Aug 12): The Election Commission (EC) will only decide on the next course of action after its legal adviser had studied the court papers on the PKR's election offence suit, said its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

"I reserve my comment at the moment and I don't want to say anything now until EC officially received the suit in writing and our legal adviser has studied it properly," Aziz said in an SMS reply.

He said the EC would issue a media statement on its stand on the matter soon.

"No further comments," Aziz told The Malaysian Insider.

This morning, PKR filed the suit against Datuk Seri Najib Razak for violating election laws following The Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) report over the US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) found in the prime minister's personal accounts.

Last week, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, in an unsigned statement, said the cash was merely a donation.

The plaintiffs in the suit are de facto PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is in prison for a sodomy conviction, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, Batu MP Tian Chua, former secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Gerakan Harapan Baru member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Apart from Najib and EC, others named as defendants are Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

"This is a follow-up action from the WSJ report.

"The facts of the case have exposed various corruption and corrupt tactics used by BN to win the 13th general election.

"It is obvious that the RM2.6 billion used is more than 26 times the allowed amount as outlined by Malaysian laws," Nurul Izzah told a press conference in the PKR headquarters today.

She said Section 19 of the Election Offences Act limits electoral spending to RM100,000 and RM200,000 for a state and parliamentary candidate respectively.

Nurul Izzah said EC had openly ignored corruption, and cited the speech made by Najib at the 2010 Sibu by-election as an example where the EC said it did not have the power to investigate.

"I help you, you help me... If Robert Lau becomes the MP on Sunday, on Monday I will ask the cheque to be prepared. Do we have a deal or not? We do! You want the RM5 million, I want Robert Lau to win," Najib reportedly said, referring to the BN candidate for Sibu.

Najib also said MACC has cleared him of corruption over the RM2.6 billion issue, which he reiterated was held in trust on behalf of Umno, of which he is president, and not for his personal use. – The Malaysian Insider

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