PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang
PETALING JAYA: The question of whether cash handouts to voters during elections constitute charity or vote-buying is being hotly debated by politicians.
While PAS insists it has never condoned vote-buying, Umno leaders claim that the Islamist party has done so and is attempting to cover it up.
In the latest back and forth, PAS central information chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin hit back by saying Umno leaders had no moral authority to criticise the party.
“PAS never practised money politics or bribed voters, compared to those who are well known for money politics in their party polls or elections. They do not have the moral right to raise this matter (on vote-buying),” Khairil said in a statement yesterday.
On Saturday, several online media reported PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang as saying that the cash handouts given to voters in three Terengganu parliament constituencies were in fact “from the public” and not by the party.
He had said there was nothing wrong with such an act and that no electoral laws had been broken.
Terengganu Umno had recently filed petitions to nullify the results of the 15th General Election for the Kuala Terengganu, Marang and Kemaman constituencies, alleging that PAS had bought votes using i-Siswa, i-Belia and i-Pencen on Nov 15, 16 and 17 last year.
When asked about the petitions, Abdul Hadi said that although the laws stated only candidates and their representatives could not give cash handouts, it was alright if others gave them.
“If the public wants to give sedekah (alms for charity), then it is up to them,” he told reporters then at an event in Negri Sembilan.
On Sunday, Datuk Seri Ahmad Dr Zahid Hamidi, Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president, lashed out at Abdul Hadi over his stand on the issue.
“If he does it, it is a charitable act, but if others do it, it is corruption,” he said.
Hours later, Perikatan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin weighed in, saying that cash handouts during election campaigning should not be magnified as it is the intentions of such handouts that matter most.
“When we talk about giving money, what is important is the intention.
“It’s not about accepting what we give (cash handouts), but about the people who ask candidates for house repairs as such.
“We have to be very careful as to the intentions,” said Hamzah, who is the Opposition leader.
Umno Information Chief Datuk Isham Jalil then challenged Hamzah to state Perikatan’s intention for giving cash to voters during the election period and to show proof that it was not vote-buying.
