Anwar: BN spent big to win small

KUALA KUBU BARU: The Barisan Nasional spent more than RM100 million to wrest the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat yesterday, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said.

He said in a statement yesterday that the BN spent at least RM65,000 on each voter to retake the seat, with a 1,725 vote majority.

“BN spent more than RM100 million for this narrow victory, with all its ministers campaigning every day.

“Besides, the Election Commission has failed to ensure the by-election was carried out in a responsible and fair manner. The police, too, practised double standards. There were even reports that they (police) stopped voters from doing their duties,” he said.

Anwar said the narrow majority showed that BN had still not learnt one important lesson from the March 2008 general election: “You can’t manipulate the rakyat with dirty tactics.”

“Character assassination, bribery and violence were used to help the BN win in this by-election. But the rakyat were not fooled,” he said.

Taking the party's defeat in stride, Anwar said Pakatan Rakyat would continue to strive to reach out to the rural heartland of Hulu Selangpor, particularly the Felda settlements.

“We will improve on our support in Hulu Selangor. There is much for us to do here to ensure our targets in Felda schemes are met,” he said.

“I am committed to this challenge and my resolve is unwavering."

FMT
26/04/10

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