Ambiga rapped for disputing PM's denial of GE13 fraud

(Malaysiakini) Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan was “wrong” to accuse the prime minister of dropping a red herring, when he denied the claim that 40,000 Bangladeshis had voted during the 13th general election.

Utusan Malaysia reported today that two Malay rights pressure groups said this is because the claim itself was a lie perpetuated by the opposition.

“Why haven't the opposition made a public apology over this? This slander clearly shows they believe the rakyat are stupid and can be lied to...,” Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali is quoted as saying.

“In fact, today, opposition spokesperson Ambiga is trying to put the blame on the government. Who created this lie? Is Ambiga now a forgetful person?”

Supporting him, Jaringan Melayu Malaysia president Azwanddin Hamzah said the “majority” of Malaysians are now demanding that the authorities should act against such slander.

“I would like to congratulate Ambiga who seems to have quickly learnt from Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to always deny their own faults and blame Umno and BN,” he reportedly said.

Yesterday, Ambiga had said that Najib's repeated denials that 40,000 Bangladeshis had voted in GE13 were a red herring, to evade answering other allegations of electoral fraud.

Najib, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, had been asked to comment on "allegations of fraud, buying votes, double-voting, phantom voters, (and) issues of gerrymandering".

He replied that the allegations are "by and large...totally unfounded", and then pointed to the allegation that 40,000 Bangladeshis had been ferried in to vote as an example, stressing that this has never been proven.