Saturday April 13, 2013

GE13: No restriction on Puad to contest if fielded, says EC

JOHOR BARU: There is no restriction for Batu Pahat elected representative Dr Puad Zarkashi to contest in the general election if he is fielded by Barisan Nasional, said state Election Commission director Rokiah Hanum Ibrahim.

The commission, she said, already ruled some time ago that Dr Puad was eligible to contest following unofficial reports that his statement of expenditure for the 2008 general election was not signed by his election representative Siam Kasrin.

Siam had threatened to file a petition against Dr Puad over the matter if he was nominated by Barisan to contest in Batu Pahat.

“We are aware of the misunderstanding between him and his election representative in the 2008 general election.

“But since there is no formal complaint on the matter until the end of the objection period, we decided that Dr Puad is eligible to contest in the election,” she said.

Siam, who was Batu Pahat MP for one term in 1999, claimed that Dr Puad had lost his eligibility to contest as he had contravened election regulations by sending a statement of expenditure that was not signed by him (Siam).

He claimed that the Umno leadership was aware of the issue and in fact gave him a show-cause letter in 2009 for his failure to sign Dr Puad's statement of expenditure.

Dr Puad, when contacted, said he had informed the Umno headquarters of the issue and the legal division would take necessary action when the time came.

“At this moment, I cannot issue a statement but we will act if Siam decides to file a petition,” he said.

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