Blogger Mohd Shukri Mohd Ramli was disqualified from contesting in the Rompin Parliamentary by-election because he failed to submit an expenditure statement after contesting in the 13th general election (GE13) in May 2013.

Election Commission (EC) chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof denied Mohd Shukri’s claim that the EC had contacted him and urged him not to contest.

Mohd Shukri, 44, better known as Cucu Mat Kilau, claimed that for that reason, his proposer and seconder did not turn up for his nomination today at the  Dewan Jubli Perak Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah here, thus thwarting his aspiration to become an independent candidate.

The EC chairperson said: “He (Mohd Shukri) can say anything, but EC has never prevented anybody from contesting.

“If the conditions and nomination forms are complete, we will give the opportunity (to contest),” Abdul Aziz told reporters after the nomination process for the Rompin Parliamentary by-election in Rompin today.

“In fact, if there are shortcomings in the nomination forms, we will help to complete them so that the returning officer will not reject the nomination,” he said when asked by reporters about Mohd Shukri’s claim.

Mohd Shukri, who informed the media that he would be contesting in the by-election, had arrived at the nomination centre 10 minutes before the nomination process closed at 10am.

Mohd Shukri, who was alone, and wearing a dark blue shirt and black pants, was stopped at the entrance to the hall by EC officers to determine the reason for his presence.

When EC officers found he had not submitted his expenditure statement after contesting in GE13 and had not brought along a proposer and a seconder, he was barred from entering the hall to submit his nomination form.

Mohd Shukri was seen protesting at the decision of the EC officers and refused to leave, forcing the EC to seek the help of the police to take him out of the nomination hall area.

While on the way out, he expressed his dissatisfaction to the media by claiming that the EC had telephoned him and told him not to come to submit his nomination papers to contest in the by-election.

Tearing up nomination papers in protest

While he was being escorted from the nomination area, he tore up the nomination papers in protest.

Mohd Shukri said he was aggrieved that he could not submit his nomination papers because “the support of the people for third parties in elections is increasing because they want a representative to solve people’s problems”.

He, however, did not expect a win, expecting Barisan Nasional to win with a bigger majority, but was optimistic of obtaining 5,000 votes.

Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz said Mohd Shukri, after contesting on an Independent ticket for the Semambu state seat in Pahang in GE13, had not submitted his expenditure statement supported by receipts to EC within a month after the results of the general election were gazetted.

Failure to do so could cause an individual to lose his right to contest in elections for five years, except if he got a pardon from the High Court, he said.

“From EC records, he is among 12 candidates in Pahang who failed to furnish their expenditure accounts,” he said.

Abdul Aziz said the purpose of an expenditure account was to show they did not spend over the permitted amount under the law when participating in an election, namely RM200,000 for a parliamentary seat and RM100,000 for a state seat.

The Rompin by-election sees a straight fight between Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Hasan Arifin and PAS candidate Nazri Ahmad.

The Rompin by-election was called following the death of incumbent Jamaluddin Jarjis in a helicopter mishap in Semenyih, Selangor on April 4.

In GE13, Jamaluddin retained the seat, which he had held for almost six terms, after beating former PAS Wanita chief Nuridah Mohd Salleh with a majority of 15,114 votes.

Polling is on May 5.

- Bernama