Sekinchan’s motorists were paid either RM10 or RM50 each for allowing stickers with Barisan Nasional (BN) logos, and its candidates’ faces and names to be plastered on their motorcycles and cars.
In the sticker blitz campaign last Thursday morning outside Sekinchan market’s food court, Sungai Besar Umno chief Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos used loudspeakers to blast the message for residents to come forward with their vehicles.
There were six men marshalling traffic, pasting stickers on the vehicles before slipping cash notes into the hands of the motorists after the stickers were plastered on – RM50 for plastering them at the side and in front of cars, and RM10 for motorcycles.
Some of the youths carrying out the sticker campaign wore plain clothes, while others wore BN shirts in the coalition’s trademark blue colour, and one wore a black shirt with the words ‘Pemuda Umno’ (Umno Youth in Malay).
The cars and motorcyclists queued up, as they waited for the stickers to be pasted on by the men. The men enjoyed a brisk business and there were even periods when motorcyclists swarmed around them.
Due to the number of vehicle owners eager to join in, Jamal occasionally had to step in by saying through the loudspeakers: “Don’t block the traffic”.
The Malay Mail was approached by local Chinese residents curious to know about the cash giveaway, and ethnic Chinese were spotted among those accepting the cash-for-sticker transactions.
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The loudspeakers blasting his message were mounted atop a black pick-up which sported the faces of BN candidates in Sekinchan, Sungai Besar, Sungai Panjang. The same pick-up was also where the youths kept their stock of stickers.
The sticker blitz was held just a minute or two’s walk away from Ng’s office.
When asked by the Malay Mail about the payments, Jamal refused to be quoted on the matter. He asserted that the youths were not BN or Umno members.
He said the BN sticker campaign was carried out daily, with a target for a total of 5,000 cars and 15,000 motorcycles to be plastered with the stickers.
“The campaign has been going on for two weeks already. This is the third week. There are already 7,000 cars and over 10,000 motorcycles,” he told the Malay Mail.
Jamal claimed there were 4,000 workers and multiple teams working daily with over 50 electoral campaigns daily for BN in 50 locations throughout the Sungai Besar parliamentary constituency and its two state constituencies Sekinchan and Sungai Panjang.
The election campaign was carried out through roadshows, concerts, BN’s branch operations room and polling district centres, he said.
“I am the campaign manager, general, for the three seats in Sekinchan. I am the election director.
“I work from 5am to 2am each day, I will ensure that these three candidates – whatever the method – we have to win, and I am confident that for GE14, Selangor will successfully return to Barisan Nasional,” he said.
He asserted that he receives “sponsorship” from the public through funds collection for all of BN’s programmes in Sungai Besar.
BN’s candidate for Sungai Besar is incumbent Budiman Mohd Zohdi who won by 9,191 vote-majority in the 2016 by-election and will be up against PAS’ Muhammad Salleh Mohd Husin and PH’s Muslimin Yahaya for GE14.
The seat with 48,739 voters is mainly Malay at 68.71, with ethnic Chinese voters accounting for 28.77 percent.
The overwhelmingly-Malay state seat Sungai Panjang will see BN’s Mohd Imran Tamrin in a three-cornered fight with PH’s Mariam Abdul Rashid and PAS’ Mohd Razali Saari vying for the 30,638 voters that are 83.44 percent Malay and 14.45 percent Chinese, while the Sekinchan seat will also be a three-cornered fight between DAP’s Ng, MCA’s Lee and PAS’s Mohd Fadzin Taslimin.
Sekinchan currently has 18,101 registered voters, including 53.02 percent ethnic Chinese and 43.79 percent ethnic Malays. – Malay Mail
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