Johor polls: Muda vacates PIJ Holdings premises

JOHOR BAHRU: The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) party has vacated the premises meant for entrepreneurs used as the party's operations centre for the Johor state election as ordered by PIJ Holdings Sdn Bhd following allegations of trespass and unauthorised use of assets.

Its secretary-general Amira Aisya Abd Aziz said the move was to enable the party to continue to focus on the campaign and reach out to the community, including voters in the Puteri Wangsa state constituency.

"We do not want to complicate matters...Yesterday, I personally instructed my friends in the Larkin state assembly to quickly find a new operations room. So now they are in the process of moving to another location," she told reporters after a walk-about in Felda Ulu Tebrau, Ulu Tiram here today.

Also present was MUDA president and Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abd Rahman.

Amira Aisya, who is contesting the Puteri Wangsa seat, said she would claim the deposit that had been paid after the polls.

On Friday, PIJ Holdings through its subsidiary PIJ Property Development Sdn Bhd was reported to have lodged a police report against MUDA for trespassing and using assets at the Entrepreneur Incubator site located at Taman Perbadanan Islam, Stulang Baru, without permission and instructed the party to immediately vacate the premises.

The state government-linked company said the premises were developed for entrepreneurs to start their businesses and was not intended as an operations centre for any political party.

Meanwhile, Amira Aisya said the party had lodged two police reports at the Bandar Dato' Onn police station regarding malicious acts that she claimed were done to her campaign materials on Monday and yesterday.

Five other candidates are vying for the Puteri Wangsa seat namely Adzrin Adam (Independent), Ng Yew Aik (Barisan Nasional), Dr Khairil Anwar Razali (Parti Pejuang Tanah Air), Loh Kah Yong (Perikatan Nasional) and Steven Choong Shiau Yoon (Parti Bangsa Malaysia).

MUDA is making its debut in the state polls contesting seven seats namely Tenang, Bukit Kepong, Parit Raja, Machap, Puteri Wangsa, Larkin and Bukit Permai.

-- BERNAMA