The two men arrested by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) in Johor on Tuesday for allegedly bribing a PAS candidate to withdraw are close associates of an Umno Youth leader, claimed a local PAS leader today.

PAS Johor information chief Dzulkefly Ahmad said the duo, who were caught red handed, had allegedly admitted to have been instructed by an UmnoYouth divisional leader to bribe PAS' Pasir Raja candidate Sanip Ithin.

"The Umno Youth leader (whose name he refused to reveal) ran away from the kampung (village) when he heard that we had surrendered the two men to the ACA.

"But I was told he surrendered himself yesterday," he said when contacted.

Dzulkefly was reacting to a statement by Sanip's opponent Halimah Mohamed Sadique who denied that the duo had any connections with Barisan Nasional or Umno.

"Of course they will deny... but it's well-known that these two are runners for the Umno people around the area. If they are not linked to Umno, then why should they even make the offer to our candidate in the first place," he said.

Dzulkefly, who was among the eight PAS members who caught the two men at Sanip's house, also disclosed that his party had lodged an official complaint with the Election Commission (EC) regarding the matter.

"We don't know if the Umno candidate was directly involved, but if the ACA investigations show a link to the candidate, we hope the EC would take action as prescribed by the election laws," he said.

Yesterday Johor ACA director Abdul Razak Idris confirmed the arrest of the two men, who have since been released on a RM10,000 bail.

Abdul Razak said the agency was looking at all angles, including entrapment.

Treacherous act

Responding to the allegation of entrapment, Dzulkefly claimed that they had acted in line with the laws when they made the citizen's arrest.

"We hope that ACA will investigate the matter fairly because we have given every shred of evidence that we have to them. This is a very serious offence as it not only undermines PAS struggle but it is an act of treachery against democracy," he said.

Relating the incident, the PAS leader said Sanip was contacted via the short messaging system (SMS) by one of the runners known only as "Azman" about the offer.

"After some negotiations, the price was set at RM100,000. But he said he will pay RM5,000 first while the rest will be delivered immediately after our candidate submits his withdrawal form to the EC.

"When we knew they were coming to Sanip's house, the eight of us hid in the house and immediately arrested the two when they paid the money," he added.

He also revealed that they had photographs to prove the alleged transaction.

Asked why they did not contact the ACA beforehand, Dzulkefly claimed that it was part of their strategy.

"The incident has not only served as a lesson to us but to other Umno runners as well. I was informed now that none of the runners are willing to make any offers to our candidate," he said.

MB desperate

He said the incident also showed how desperate Johor Umno leader Abdul Ghani Othman is to cling on to his menteri besar post.

"He wants to remain as mentri besar, that is why he wants to make sure Umno wins in all the seats. He also wants to demoralise PAS members because our spirit has surged after we won the Senggarang state seat," he claimed.

On nomination day last Saturday, PAS candidate Dr Ramli Mohd Kari won the Senggarang state seat after the EC disqualified his opponent on technicality.

In a related issue, Dzulkefly said disciplinary action will be initiated against its candidate Abu Bakar Sakak who withdrew from contesting the Kota Tinggi parliamentary seat against Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had described Abu Bakar as "someone without moral values" but the latter claimed he withdrew in order not to disrupt the unity of Muslims.