Law expert: Federal Court has ruled promising election goodies is not bribery

(fz.com) – Law expert Azhar Azizan Harun said today the Federal Court has ruled that it is not considered a bribe when an election candidate is addressing the public promising goodies. It is only a bribe when the people are asked to vote in return.

Azhar, who is a practicing lawyer, said a minister can make monetary promises if it was not made in a personal capacity but spoken on behalf of the government.

“What the cases have shown now is if it was made not in a personal capacity but in his capacity as a minister or prime minister and that promise is not made to just a particular individual or small section of the society then it is not bribery.

“As long there is no bargaining, it is not bribery,” he told a post-election series seminar organised by the Bar Council.

“If he is not asking for them to vote for him and there is no acceptance of that request, then it is not bribery,” he added.

He also said the challenger in the election petition will have a high burden of proof because they have to prove a case that the candidate had the intention or knowledge to prove there was vote-buying.

More to come at: http://www.fz.com/content/law-expert-federal-court-has-ruled-promising-election-goodies-not-bribery#ixzz2Xagrmv00