PETALING JAYA – The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) today claimed that Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying had abused her position by announcing additional funding for three schools in the Pelangai constituency.
In a statement, Bersih said the act was a form of undue influence by the government during an election.
On September 22, Lim had apparently announced an allocation of RM30,000 each to two schools and RM50,000 to a third in the state seat of Pelangai in Pahang.
She claimed that the funding was on top of RM2.98 million which had already been allocated for government-funded schools in Penang.
Although it is not illegal for Lim to make such an announcement, Bersih said the action is “in contradiction with the principles of clean and fair elections because the opposition has no access to such resources or government machinery”.
SJKC Manchis and SJKC Telemong were to get RM30,000 each, while SJKT Ladang Ranjok will receive RM50,000.
“We issued a statement during the six state elections where we urged the Madani government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to comply with the 3C prohibition – ‘no conditions, no campaign and no candidate’.
“This will ensure that announcements by ministries and federal agencies during the election period are not abused in an attempt to win elections,” Bersih said in a statement today.
It added that based on these guidelines, the deputy education minister’s announcement “does indeed violate the ‘no campaign’ guidelines” because it is specific to only schools in the Pelangai constituency.
Bersih said while it is not illegal for Lim to make such an announcement, the action was in contradiction with the principles of clean and fair elections as the opposition has no access to such resources or government machinery. – The Vibes, September 27, 2023
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