Cheating cost PH a large number of seats in GE14

PETALING JAYA: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and other Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties lost a large number of seats due to cheating during the recent general election, said its chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said the party lost some seats when all of a sudden new ballot boxes appeared.
He said this happened although the party was in the lead.
"The number of spoilt votes were also alarming because they numbered between 700 and 800 in some instances.
"The Election Commission can't claim that 'Malaysians are stupid'," he said after chairing the party's supreme council meeting today.
He said despite the cheating, PH managed to win the elections although many people including the media remained sceptical of such an outcome.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, he said PH will have to carry out a study on the cheating to decide if they have a case.
He said only after that will they decide on the next course of action.
Mahathir, who became Malaysia's seventh prime minister following PH's victory at the polls, said he was glad that the transition of power was peaceful.
He said during the meeting they also discussed Umno members joining the party.
Mahathir said it was decided that they must first resign from Umno, become independent and state their stand on the PH government.
He added that only after that would a decision be made on whether to accept them.
"Previously very few people wanted to join Pribumi, but today we are in power and we are getting about 1,000 applications a day," he said.
Mahathir said previously Pribumi's main aim was to remove Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak from power.
He said the party must now decide what it wants to achieve and explain this new stand to the people.
Asked about the current Election Commission chairman, Mahathir said he heard that the former wants to resign but if any wrongdoing is discovered then the law would take its course.
On bonus for civil servants, he said they will be receiving it, but the quantum has yet to be determined.
Mahathir said the high-speed rail will be scrapped but it will cost the government hundreds of millions.
"I have no been told by officials that it will be over RM500 million if we scrap the project.
"I have to see the documents relating to agreement," he said.
He said the government will have to hold a discussion with Singapore on the rail link.
Hi added that it was only a short track and would save about an hour in traveling time.