'Ask him who got the money' — Sanusi presses Marzuki on election funds during GE15

ALOR SETAR – Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor urged Datuk Dr Marzuki Mohamad, the former principal private secretary to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, to clarify the flow of funds during the 15th General Election (GE15).

He asked Marzuki to explain which parties had received the money allegedly channelled by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) to Pas.

Sanusi, who was also the Election director for Pas and Perikatan Nasional (PN) stressed that Marzuki needed to explain in detail where the money was directed and who had managed the expenditures.

He said in Kedah particularly, the party had borne all its campaign costs independently, relying on donations from polling district units as well as contributions from members.

“Ask him, who was the money given to? I also want to know. In Kedah, all our expenses were carried by ourselves.

“In fact, even the equipment and materials for Bersatu candidates were initially paid by Pas Kedah, with only one candidate eventually reimbursing us,” he said when contacted on Thursday.

Sanusi had also criticised those who suggested the campaign costs he had disclosed were excessive or wasteful.

“Try asking Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Harapan (PH) how much they spent. If BN needed to spend RM5 million on one parliamentary seat and even then did not win, what does that say?” he added.

On Wednesday, Marzuki had claimed in his statement that Bersatu had fully borne all PN election expenses, including financial contributions to Pas.

He added that all election materials bearing the PN logo at the time had been provided by Bersatu, which in turn had helped Pas secure 43 parliamentary seats, marking the party’s biggest achievement in its political history.

Sanusi, however, had dismissed this statement as laughable.

“That statement is very funny, ask him who the money was actually given to,” he said.

Earlier, during the winding-up session of the 71st Pas Annual Congress on Tuesday, Sanusi had alleged that the party was forced to finance its own election materials and had even charged RM1,200 per polling district unit (UPU) to partner parties within PN.

“All the equipment we paid for. They just came to the contest. Afterwards, they wanted to become the leader, yet had no money and no machinery. Do not force us to raise all these issues,” he added.

Marzuki, however, had conceded with Sanusi’s broader point that election campaigns required substantial funding, noting that RM1 million per parliamentary seat was the bare minimum to cover total costs