I call on Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to commit to the nation that there will not be any shifts of military personnel to new voting destinations before the 14th general election.
On Wednesday 20th December, Hishammuddin who is also UMNO vice-president accused me of creating a perception that a new yet-to-complete Segamat military camp would help Barisan Nasional when it came to votes in the coming GE14.
“As the general election approaches, they (the opposition) raise all kinds of issues. If it is true that the camp will help the BN, as the defence minister I might as well have built the camp in my constituency of Sembrong,” he was quoted as saying.
On Thursday 21st December, I told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that there is indeed a camp being built in Paloh, Sembrong, as announced by the Armed Forces Chief General Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Nor on 25th September.
I said: “This proves that Barisan Nasional is now prepared to use dirty tactics to fight the next election, including redelineation and building new army camps for the strategic purpose of the election. There are a few other camps being built in Pagoh, Bera (Pahang) and Hutan Melintang (Bagan Datuk, Perak)”.
I then challenged Hishammuddin to deny that there is a camp being built in Paloh.
On 22nd December, Sembrong UMNO Youth division chief who is also Hishammuddin’s nephew and political secretary Onn Hafiz Ghazi said that the establishment of military bases in the constituency was not politically motivated and the new base would not be completed before the general election, adding that critics were trying to undermine his boss.
“Had the establishment of the new Sembrong base been political, surely Hishammuddin would have made sure (the base) was completed before the general election,” according to Onn. He also admitted on Hishammuddin’s behalf that there is indeed a new camp being constructed in Paloh.
I now ask Hishammuddin to pledge to the nation that there would not be any shifts in military personnel into these new camps as voters before GE14.
The new camps of Hutan Melintang, Bera and Segamat, which are all still under construction but voters already been transferred in the 3rd quarter of 2017, have indicated clearly that BN intended to win these marginal seats by default.
I also ask Hishammuddin to rescind the shifts of 1,079 military personnel to Segamat, 1,234 to Bera, and 1,411 to Hutan Melintang.
The following statistics show that these seats (Hutan Melintang, Bera, Segamat and Paloh) are highly marginal seats.
1. Hutan Melintang
Incumbent: Kesavan Subramani (PKR)
Votes: 10,155; 49.6%
Opponents:
Supramaniam (MIC)
Votes: 8,915; 43.5%
– Mat Sidi Hashim (Ind)
Votes: 413; 2%
– Azahari Abdullah (Berjasa)
Votes: 353; 1.7%
Majority: 1,240
2. Bera
Incumbent: Ismail Sabri Yaakob (UMNO)
Votes: 21,669; 50.6%
Opponents:
-Zakaria Abdul Hamid (PKR))
Votes: 19,526; 45.6%
-Mohd Alang (Ind)
Votes: 670; 1.6%
Majority: 2,143
3. Segamat
Incumbent: Subramaniam (MIC)
Votes: 20,037; 50.3%
Opponent:
– Chua Jui Meng (PKR)
Votes: 18,820; 47.3%
Majority: 1,217
4. Paloh
Incumbent: Teoh Yap Kun (MCA)
Votes: 7,531; 49%
Opponent:
-Shanker Rengganathan (DAP)
Votes: 7,428; 48.4%
Majority: 103