Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 44 No. 5. March 30 1981
Election bribery
Election bribery
A Malaysian Political Court Case
Following last November's Pengkalan Kota by-election in Penang, the defeated opposition party (DAP) candidate filed a petition to the court, claiming that Malaysian Finance Minister Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah, during his campaigning tour to Pengkalan Kota, told a crowd of more than 1500 people in the constituency: "If the National Front (ie the ruling party) wins, I will personally give more money for development." According to the DAP candidate, this was an inducement that constituted bribery. The basis of this statement was a report in the leading national newspaper, the New Straits Times, which quoted Razaleigh as making the remark. Razaleigh denied the claim but did not seek any correction from the paper. He however explained that what he actually told the crowd was that "If we (the NF) win, we shall make an allocation to bring more development for the benefit of the people of the area." Tunku Razaleigh was later acquitted of the charge because "his committing a corrupt practice is not proven", as the judge put it. The case foundered due to firstly, the reporter's admission that he might nave misheard Razaleigh's words and, secondly, the failure to produce any witness from the meeting.
Court Condones Bribery
The court case generated extensive interest. By his own words, Razaleigh said that there would be development if the NF won. The logical conclusion is that if the NF had lost; no, or less, development would have been forthcoming. The court did not consider whether such a conditional pledge might induce voters to support the government lest they lost development money.
Another argument that was not raised in court is whether a minister can use taxpayers' money to further the cause of one party against another. In Rengkalan Kota, Razaleigh followed the all-too-common practice of making on-the-spot, specific commitment - M$600,000 (US$264,000) allocated to Chinese education!
In court, Razaleigh maintained that the pledge to bring development was a national pledge that was continuous. But, what people at his meeting were told was what would happen in their area if the NF won!