Ahmad Maslan, who is BN’s by-election deputy director, said the banners were found hanging among the BN flags.
“There were none last night. I suspect they were put up between 3am and 4am as our team detected them only this morning,” he told a press conference.
“All the banners have been taken down and we will file a police report shortly.”
Also present at the press conference were Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi and Johor DAP deputy chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali.
Ahmad said the banners, written in both Malay and Mandarin, stated: “The federal and state governments will not be replaced. This by-election is to teach that foolish Umno a lesson. Reject Umno-BN.”
Another banner claimed that BN’s candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, who is Kluang Umno Youth chief, would become Kluang Umno chief if he won the Mahkota by-election.
Ahmad, who is also the Pontian MP, said such banners violate the Election Offences Act 1954 as they do not indicate which party is responsible for them.
He said it was irresponsible to put up these banners on polling day and hoped voters would not be swayed by them.
“This desperate tactic is inappropriate. We did not observe similar actions during the Nenggiri by-election.
“It shows they (the opposition) are out of ideas, prompting them to resort to such tactics.”
While Ahmad did not name anyone specifically, he called for prompt action by the authorities.
DAP leader says received PN campaign call today
Meanwhile, Sheikh Umar claimed that he received a call this morning from a woman urging him to vote for Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Playing a recording of the call he had posted on his Facebook page, he said the caller first inquired whether he had cast his vote and then encouraged him to head out and support PN.
When he questioned her rationale for supporting PN, she replied, “If you vote for BN, the country will be controlled by the Chinese.
“In my opinion, this constitutes a violation of election laws, as the campaign period officially ended last night, yet they (PN) are still campaigning today (on polling day),” he said.
He also claimed to have identified the caller through the TrueCaller app.
Sheikh Umar has since lodged a police report at Kluang police station, as the call was an election offence.