EC is being inconsistent in tearing down MCA’s billboards without clear guidelines

The inconsistencies in the Election Commission’s enforcement have left candidates vying for legislative seats confused. This not only has jeopardised the EC’s professional image, but resulted in Barisan Nasional and MCA being attacked unnecessarily as well.  

Ever since nomination day on 2 April 2018, the EC’s standard operating procedures have been confusing.

According to EC’s newly-added regulations, a participating party can only display portraits of its chief and deputy chief. Notwithstanding this, the EC had questionably torn down posters which depict MCA President Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai. The EC’s actions thereby raise doubt as to what its SOP actually is.     

Besides, according to the Election Offences Act, so long as a political party is legally registered, its logo will be allowed to appear on its posters. Despite contesting as a component party under BN’s logo, MCA’s logo is itself also legally registered. However, the EC had acted to take down posters with MCA’s logo, leaving MCA to suffer losses, and its campaign seriously disrupted.

In addition, the unprofessional conducts of the EC has also created space for the Opposition to spread news that their billboards had been targeted, portraying that they had been victimised and resulting in the electorate hating BN and MCA, and gain cheap political publicity along the way. But in actual fact, many of MCA’s billboards, including those showing Tiong Lai shaking hands with China President Xi Jinping, and a group photo of Tiong Lai, Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib and digital economy extraordinaire Jack Ma, had been taken down as well.

The billboard showing Tiong Lai shaking hands with President Xi, is only meant to showcase MCA’s achievement in cooperating with the Communist Party of China, and the gains under the Belt and Road Initiative. This is only the normal way of promoting our party. We are puzzled as to the reasons behind the tearing down.

In order to put any speculation to a stop, we urge the EC to immediately come out with a clear-cut enforcement SOP for all the parties concerned, so that the remaining campaigns can be run smoothly.

Datuk Tay Puay Chuan
MCA Legal Affairs Bureau Chairman

-MCA online-