PKR's allegation on transfer of votes to Permatang Pauh baseless

The allegation by Penang PKR vice-chairman Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim that UMNO has transferred voters to Permatang Pauh is baseless, said Penang UMNO deputy chairman Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican.

"This is because the increase in the number of registered voters is 797 and is not enough to offset the 11,721 majority of votes won by PKR in the 13th general election (GE13).

"For Malik's information, the number of registered voters for Permatang Pauh during GE13 was 71,699 people and rose to 72,496 people in the electoral roll for second quarter 2014 (ending June 30, 2013)," he said in a statement Sunday.

Abdul Malik, who is also Penang PKR election director, claimed in a portal on Saturday that UMNO had transferred voters to Permatang Pauh to prepare for the by-election.

Reezal said Abdul Malik would be seen as a liar if he could not prove the allegation that UMNO had transferred voters to Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency.

On Feb 10, the Federal Court upheld the Appeals Court decision to convict Permatang Pauh Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for committing sodomy.

The 67-year-old Opposition leader was sentenced to five years' jail for sodomising his former personal aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 30, in 2008.

Anwar is deemed to have been disqualified as Permatang Pauh MP under Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, which states that an MP will be disqualified if he is jailed more than one year, or fined more than RM2,000.