Chinese words in leaflet meant to scare off voters, Court told

KOTA KINABALU: The Election Court was told that the Chinese words in a leaflet, which featured Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Christina Liew was distributed to the public in Luyang on March 6 with the intention to scare off voters.

Former Deputy President of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Datuk Philip Yong Chiew Yip who is the first witness to testify on the first day of Api-Api election petition trial said the meaning on the leaflet was not easy to interpret.

“But I know what it means,” Philip said when asked by the petitioner’s counsel Ansari Abdullah on what was written on the leaflet.

The election petition is to nullify the result of the Ap-Api state seat which was won by Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai, who is also the State Human Resource and IT Development Minister.

When asked to interpret further on the wordings, he said that they were to mean that there would be a reduction in Chinese school education fund with non-Chinese educationists to be sent to these schools.

It also posed a question to the people whether they wanted such kind of culture with children taking to the street to demonstrate, he said adding that there would not also be any freedom to be enjoyed by the rakyat.

To another question, Philip said that he knew Christina since her days in Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) in 1985.

He also said that he could not visualised that Christina would be involved in such kind of act to distribute the leaflets.

Earlier Phillip who is a businessman told the court that on the night of March 6 at 10.30pm, said that three boys were seen distributing leaflets to the public who were eating out at Bornion Centre, near where the SAPP headquarters.

The businessman said he was at the SAPP operation room during the time when the leaflets were distributed.

“A bundle was also sent into the centre,” he said in estimating that there were between 30-50 leaflets that were distributed in the operation room.

“When I saw the leaflet, I found there was no stamping and the company name printed on the leaflet. I did not know where it came from but I know it is a violation of the election law,” he said adding that he informed his staff Foo Su Chin to apprehend the boys that were distributing the leaflets.

When asked by Ansari what he had in mind and how he felt seeing the distribution of leaflets, Philip said he was shocked to find the picture of Christina Liew. He said he did not know where the leaflet came from because there was no stamp and company printed on it.

“I feel that the picture distributed was to tarnish the image of PKR leaders,” he said adding that the face of its de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also printed on the leaflet.

Philip also discovered that a Kancil car driven by a Chinese man had helped to carry the posters and transported the delivery boys.

When the cops arrived at the scene half hour later, Christina was also present. The three boys were later brought to the Karamunsing police headquarters.

Philip said after the three children were brought downtown, he felt that it was important for him to lodge a police report as he feared that the party would be accused of distributing the leaflets.

Asked if he had heard conversation between Foo and the driver, the businessman said that Foo apprehended the boys and asked where the leaflets had came from.

“I overheard from other people that the leaflets came from Airport View Hotel. I also heard that many people were there carrying the posters,” he said.

Philip said that the conversation between Foo took place with the children and 15 minutes later with the driver of the Kancil.

When asked on the distance between him and Foo who caught and questioned the children, Philip said he was two feet away from Foo.

He said that the children converse with Foo in Bahasa Malaysia. He also told the court that he was standing quite far away from Foo who apprehended and questioned the driver of the Kancil.

Ansari asked Philip to describe the other witnesses at the scene with the latter unable to recognise all of them but he was aware that there were some reporters there.

He also said that SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee was also at the scene.

Another witness, Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim said that he heard from a businessman who said that after the incident, a short meeting was conducted to discuss on the problem and they had decided to inform the public that the party was not involved in the distribution of the leaflets.

He said that SAPP had done a statement and he too had lodged a police report.

He told the court that the police only took his statement on the night of the incident.

Dr Yee was represented by counsel Raymond Szetu Mei Thong while petitioner Karen Audrey Barry is represented by Ansari Abdullah.