Not proper to cut out the face of Tun M from billboards: Hisham

PETALING JAYA: Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today condemned the incident where a picture of Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was cut out from a billboard in Ayer Hitam.
Criticising the enforcement officers for doing this, he said the action is unprofessional.
"I don't agree and I don't like what the enforcement officers have done.
"There are many ways to enforce the rules and regulations, but it is not proper to cut out the face of Dr Mahathir from the billboard," Hishammuddin told reporters when met during his visit to Kampung Orang Asli in Kahang, Johor.
However, he noted that it is not ascertained if the enforcement officers are from the local council or the Elections Commission (EC).
"If the billboard is not right, bring it down, not cut the photos from the billboard.
"Even if rules were broken, what they did is not correct. I do not want to see such acts by enforcement officers whether it is for candidates from our party or the Opposition," Hishammuddin said.
On Monday afternoon, enforcement officers had cut out the image of Mahathir from a giant billboard in Ayer Hitam, which also featured the faces of PH's Ayer Hitam parliamentary candidate Liew Chin Tong and Yong Peng state seat candidate Chew Peck Choo.
Liew slammed the action by the officers, questioning why Mahathir's picture was not allowed to be put up despite the latter being the opposition's prime minister candidate.
The EC had last week announced several new regulations to be adhered to during the election period, including that only images of the president and the deputy of a particular party could appear on campaign materials alongside the candidates.
In another incident in Penang, a poster of Mahathir in a billboard at Sungai Ara was cut out today.
This time Mahathir's image with jailed PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Bayan Baru PKR incumbent Sim Tze Tzin had gone missing after it was put up three days ago by Pakatan Harapan (PH) members.
Condemning such ridiculous acts, Sim, who is defending his parliamentary seat, said he believes the cutout was likely done by Election Commission (EC) officers.