KOTA KINABALU - Pakatan Harapan (PH) has denied allegations that the coalition funded an RM8 million social media campaign to tarnish Parti Warisan throughout the 17th Sabah state election.
PKR information chief Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the accusation was baseless, as PH did not have the financial resources as claimed by Warisan presidet Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about. For PH, we do not have such funds,” he said when met by reporters after visiting the Sabah state election media centre in Penampang on Tuesday.
Earlier, Shafie was reported claiming that the opposing side used RM8 million in public funds to finance a social media campaign aimed at smearing his party through racially charged messages, which he said diverted attention from Sabah’s development needs.
Commenting on the current campaign climate, Fahmi who is also the Communications Minister, stressed the government’s concern over parties exploiting 3R issues (race, religion and royalty) on social media.
“We are very worried about any campaign activities based on 3R issues. This is not allowed.
“Campaign healthily and use smart, thoughtful arguments because we do not want actions that can damage harmony and unity within society,” he said.
He added that the Communications Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) took all complaints related to 3R issues seriously and will act if any laws were violated.
Fahmi also revealed that, so far, three cases involving the spread of unlawful information during the election period were under MCMC’s review.
Of these, two cases have been referred to the deputy public prosecutor for further action, while one is still under investigation.
“These three cases involve dissemination during the election period, but I cannot disclose the details as they are still under investigation.
“These matters may also be general in nature and do not necessarily involve any particular candidate,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said the preparedness of telecommunications infrastructure ahead of polling day was at a satisfactory level.
He said 29 polling centres have been identified as needing additional Starlink devices to ensure stable network coverage for election workers.
“These improvement efforts will be completed by Nov 28. We’ve also been informed that all communication towers are operating well without any blackout issues.
“If disruptions occur, they are usually restored within three to four hours,” he said.
The Election Commission has set this Saturday as polling day, while early voting took place, yesterday.