DAP candidate wants Cameron Highlands polls result nullified

DAP candidate wants Cameron Highlands polls result nullified

M Manogaran, who lost the seat by 597 votes, has filed a petition claiming massive vote buying during GE14.

Free Malaysia Today
DAP’s M Manogaran wants a declaration that BN’s C Sivarraajh is not the rightful winner. (Facebook pic)
KUALA LUMPUR:
The DAP’s M Manogaran, who lost the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat to Barisan Nasional’s (BN) C Sivarraajh has filed an election petition to nullify the results on grounds of massive vote buying.

He wants a declaration from the election court that Sivarraajh was not the rightful winner as declared by the returning officer on May 9.

Manogaran, however, did not outright ask for a by-election to be held should the petition be allowed.

In the petition filed in the High Court here, Manogaran is only asking for an equitable relief deemed fit by the court.

He has only named Sivarraajh as respondent to the petition.

In the hotly contested election, Sivarraajh won by a 597-vote majority in a five-cornered battle.

Sivarraajh polled 10,307 votes, Manogaran 9,710 votes, Wan Mahadhir Wan Mahmud of PAS 3,587 votes, Mohd Tahir Kassim of Berjasa 81 votes and Suresh Kumar of Parti Sosialis Malalysia 680 votes.

The parliamentary constituency comprises the state seats of Tanah Rata and Jelai which were won by DAP and BN candidates respectively.

Manogaran said four-term Jelai assemblyman Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail was later appointed menteri besar of Pahang.

Manogaran , who used the PKR logo to contest, said Sivarraajh relied on Wan Rosdy to meet voters, especially the Orang Asli in Jelai.

The Orang Asli, mostly from the Semai tribe, who make up about 20% of the voters in Jelai, live in the interior and are without basic necessities such as water and electricity.

He said they lived on the support provided by the federal and state governments due to extreme poverty.

Manogaran said the Orang Asli also depended on the Orang Asli Affairs Department.

He said during several visits by DAP leaders before the election, the Orang Asli had pledged their support but on polling day they had cast their ballots for Sivarraajh, leading to his defeat.

He claimed that at several settlements, which also doubled up as voting centres, the Orang Asli voters were bribed to cast their ballots in favour of Sivarraajh.

Shah Alam judge to hear Rantau election petition

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.