EC accused of making life difficult for Umno and MCA
Questions were raised over the nomination and voting dates of the Tanjung Piai by-election, which coincide with the annual general meeting of MCA and Umno.
(The Star) – Umno will defer its AGM to a later date to avoid clashing with the Tanjung Piai by-election, said party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).
The party had initially scheduled its annual meeting for Nov 13 to 16.
“Yes, we will change it to a later date.
“We will discuss this at the supreme council meeting (on Thursday),” he said in a Telegram response on the matter.
The Election Commission (EC) has fixed Nov 2 and 16 as the nomination and polling dates for the by-election.
Meanwhile, party secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa cried foul over EC’s selection of dates, saying that the body was unfair when it was supposed to remain neutral.
He accused the commission of picking these dates when Umno was slated to hold its AGM.
“My take on this is that it is done to give Umno (and Barisan Nasional) a disadvantage. Indirectly, the EC is seen to be helping Pakatan Harapan, especially Bersatu, to retain the Tanjung Piai seat,” he said, as quoted by Umno Online.
However, he said the Opposition would not allow Pakatan to “tie its hands and feet” in fighting for the people.
MCA is also affected as the party is scheduled to hold its AGM on Nov 2 and 3.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong questioned why the nomination and voting dates had coincided with the AGM of both parties.
“The MCA annual general meeting has been scheduled for Nov 2 to 3 whereas the Umno annual general meeting has been scheduled for Nov 13 to 16.
“Is this a coincidence? It is too coincidental! Many are asking why the EC made such a late decision,” he said on Facebook yesterday.
The chances of such important by-election dates coinciding with the AGMs were too slim for it to be a coincidence, he said.
“From a mathematical point of view, this is a question of probability. Calculate the probability that the Tanjung Piai by-election would coincide with both parties’ AGM.
“The answer is 0.00000001! Looks like MCA and Umno have to step up to face this new challenge,” he said.
However, Dr Wee said the decision was to be expected and that the MCA central committee previously stated its willingness to postpone the AGM should it clash with the nomination date.
The Tanjung Piai seat fell vacant after the death of Datuk Dr Md Farik Md Rafik on Sept 21.
In the 14th General Election, Dr Md Farid of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia defeated Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng of MCA and Nordin Othman of PAS.
