Muhyiddin Publicly Bribes Voters

On Saturday, Najib promised all Malaysians that he will "fight against corruption". On Sunday, his deputy offered a big bribe to the Manek Urai electorate. What great hypocrisy.

Yes, it is none other than the Deputy Prime Minister himself, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, attempted to bribe the electorate by the promise of a new RM10 million bridge, with the blatant condition that it'll only be granted if Barisan Nasional wins.

Muhyiddin, who is Umno deputy president, told the remote constituency's 12,293 voters that should they back Barisan Nasional on Tuesday, they would get a 300-metre bridge connecting Manek Urai Baru and Manek Urai Lama in Kuala Krai.

“We can build it (the bridge), insya'allah, but there is a condition. It is easy - all you need to do is to 'pangkah' (vote), but you must vote for BN. If not, there would not be any new bridge. If you want the bridge, vote BN,” Muhyiddin said.

It is an outright corrupt practice to offer monetary or financial inducements to a voter to influence his choice in the elections, and here we have the DPM himself offering the bribe, within a day of the Prime Minister himself promising to stamp out corruption. What great credibility.

For those unaware, the Election Offences Act 1954 says:

10. The following persons shall be deemed guilty of the offence of bribery:

(c) every person who, before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement as aforesaid to or for any person in order to induce such person to procure or endeavour to procure the election of any person, or the vote of any elector or voter at any election;

(d) every person who, either before or during an election, upon or in consequence of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement, procures or engages,
promises or endeavours to procure, the election of any person, or the vote of any elector or voter at an election;

And anyone committed the above election offence, he or she:

...shall be guilty of a corrupt practice, and shall, on conviction by a Sessions Court, be liable, in the case referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years and to a fine of not less than one thousand ringgit and not more than five thousand ringgit, and, in any other case, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit. Offences under paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be seizable offences within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code.

(2) Every person who is convicted of a corrupt practice shall, subject to any specific provision to the contrary in any written law relating to any election, by conviction become incapable of being registered or listed as an elector or of voting at any election or of being elected at any election, and if at that date he has been elected at any election, his seat shall be vacated from the date of such conviction: Provided that such disability shall cease on the expiry of five years from such conviction.

Hence the punishment is obvious enough. Be fined up to RM5,000 or imprisoned for up to a year. But most significantly, the guilty party will be disqualified from public office, and be banned from contesting in an election for 5 years.

So, will Muhyiddin even be investigated for the above offences, much less charged and banned? Yes, I'm sure Najib can be trusted, he will do the right thing and he is a man of his words.