Likas assemblyman lodges police report over alleged sabotage

KOTA KINABALU (Dec 14): Likas assemblyman Tham Yun Fook has lodged a police report following claims that Parti Warisan flags were deliberately hung on traffic signboards along the main road near the Sabah International Convention Centre, allegedly to create the false impression that the party had failed to comply with election regulations.

Tham said the act appeared to be a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and authorities into believing that Warisan had not removed its campaign materials after the election, stressing that this was not the first time such incidents had occurred.

“All our party flags and posters were completely removed within one week after the election, in full compliance with Election Commission of Malaysia regulations. It is therefore impossible that one or two campaign materials would have been left behind at those locations,” he said.

He did not rule out the possibility that the flags were intentionally placed in highly visible areas to deceive the public, the Election Commission or City Hall.

“Under election laws, once a violation is determined, not only would my election deposit be forfeited, but I could also face the serious consequence of being disqualified from participating in the next election.

Therefore, we believe this act may be a deliberate attempt to sabotage the integrity of the electoral process,” Tham said.

According to him, he and his team have continued to receive similar reports despite having removed all campaign materials within a week after polling day and personally conducting on-site inspections at the relevant locations.

“Unfortunately, there are still individuals who continue to engage in malicious acts, attempting to confuse the public and tarnish the image of Warisan and myself,” he added.

Due to the seriousness of the matter, Tham said he lodged the police report on Sunday together with his legal affairs special assistant Jeremy Fung and public complaints special assistant Chow Wai Hao at the Kepayan District Police Headquarters.

He also called on members of the public to contact his office immediately if they come across any Warisan campaign materials that appear to be misused, abnormally displayed or suspected to have been deliberately placed.

“We have consistently committed ourselves to abiding by the law and election regulations, and to jointly promoting a healthy, fair and respectable democratic electoral environment,” he said.

Tham urged the police to conduct a thorough investigation and bring those responsible to justice, adding that the Election Commission had been informed that any similar incidents occurring in the future should not be attributed to Warisan.