Social critic Chandra Muzaffar, the current and former Bersih chiefs and the president of Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) reacted with dismay to news about Azmin distributing cash and gadgets worth RM2.24 million to constituents in Bukit Antarabangsa and Gombak last Saturday.
Chandra said he saw it as “unfortunate” that the opposition had followed Barisan Nasional (BN) in dishing out goodies before an election.
Azmin was quoted as saying that he was discharging one of his responsibilities as the caretaker menteri besar of Selangor.
But Chandra, who once served as Parti Keadilan Nasional deputy president, said he didn’t remember this happening when he was in the party.
“We were concerned about things like this and generally our candidates at the time didn’t indulge in such practices,” he said. “In fighting for integrity and ensuring honesty, political parties must adhere to ethical standards.
“Ideally, the public should reject these handouts but I don’t know people who would reject a laptop.”
Bersih acting chairman Shahrul Amam Saari told FMT that Azmin shouldn’t have presented the gifts at a time so close to the election.
“For people who want change, this isn’t a good example,” he said. “What kind of culture are we creating if everyone does this?”
Former Bersih leader Maria Chin Abdullah said in a media statement that no party should abandon the principles tied to clean and fair elections.
Maria, who will be contesting on a PKR ticket in the coming election, said it was important for civic groups like Bersih to object to the use of government resources to further the interests of caretaker governments.
“The role of the caretaker government has to be made clear,” she said, adding that no cause should be given for complaints over the use of official positions in election campaigns.
TI-M president Akhbar Satar called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to make clear its stand on the matter.
If giving handouts before an election was indeed a corrupt act, he said, then MACC must act against all politicians guilty of doing it.
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