New ruling catches supporters by surprise
Hafiz YatimPublished: Oct 11, 2009 7:44 AM | Updated: Oct 11, 2009 7:52 AM
A new rule made by the Election Commission and enforced by the police in Bagan Pinang today caught both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat supporters by surprise.
A new rule made by the Election Commission and enforced by the police in Bagan Pinang today caught both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat supporters by surprise.
When inspecting the eight polling stations, Negri Sembilan police chief Osman Salleh instructed supporters to do away with party paraphernalia, including stickers on their vehicles.
The ruling forbids supporters from donning party t-shirts, badges, caps and from carrying umbrellas, fans and flags bearing party logos.
"The EC's decision must be respected. Remove them (the election paraphernalia), campaigning period has ended. Please respect the law as we do not want any untoward incidents," said the police chief.
Those who were spotted with party t-shirts were told to go home and change.
At one point, there was a stand-off between him and a PAS legal advisor who argued that they were not violating the Election Offences Act as the PAS tents were placed 50 metres from the entrance of the polling centre.
But the police chief was firm, saying the ruling has been imposed.
Party workers stubborn
Meanwhile, EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusoff said party workers were somewhat stubborn in not complying with the new requirements.
However, he said that he was glad to notice that there were less party stickers and flags on vehicles this time around.
In a related development, there was a small commotion at a the SJK (T) Ladang Bradewall when an aide of MIC vice-president and Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam turned up with a BN t-shirt.
This prompted PAS supporters there to chant 'buka baju' (take off your shirt) and 'kena adil' (you have to be fair).
BN candidate and former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Isa Samad is taking on state PAS commissioner Zulkefli Mohamad Omar for the Bagan Pinang seat.
There are 13,664 voters within the Bagan Pinang constituency which fell vacant following the death of BN assemblyperson Azman Mohamad Noor last Sept 4.
When inspecting the eight polling stations, Negri Sembilan police chief Osman Salleh instructed supporters to do away with party paraphernalia, including stickers on their vehicles.The ruling forbids supporters from donning party t-shirts, badges, caps and from carrying umbrellas, fans and flags bearing party logos.
"The EC's decision must be respected. Remove them (the election paraphernalia), campaigning period has ended. Please respect the law as we do not want any untoward incidents," said the police chief.
Those who were spotted with party t-shirts were told to go home and change.
At one point, there was a stand-off between him and a PAS legal advisor who argued that they were not violating the Election Offences Act as the PAS tents were placed 50 metres from the entrance of the polling centre.
But the police chief was firm, saying the ruling has been imposed.
Party workers stubborn
Meanwhile, EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusoff said party workers were somewhat stubborn in not complying with the new requirements.However, he said that he was glad to notice that there were less party stickers and flags on vehicles this time around.
In a related development, there was a small commotion at a the SJK (T) Ladang Bradewall when an aide of MIC vice-president and Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam turned up with a BN t-shirt.
This prompted PAS supporters there to chant 'buka baju' (take off your shirt) and 'kena adil' (you have to be fair).
BN candidate and former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Isa Samad is taking on state PAS commissioner Zulkefli Mohamad Omar for the Bagan Pinang seat.
There are 13,664 voters within the Bagan Pinang constituency which fell vacant following the death of BN assemblyperson Azman Mohamad Noor last Sept 4.
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