[ad_1]
SABAH SURVEYS | BN-Umno candidate for Melalap Jamawi Jaafar today denied allegations that he was caught on video handing over money.
When meeting in Melalap, a rural area north of Tenom, Jamawi confirmed that it was he who was depicted in the video clip and that it was, in fact, recorded on September 15.
He claimed that what he was handing out couldn’t be money because it was white.
“That was a brochure to introduce myself as the candidate. If it was money, how could it be white? If it was RM10, it would be red. If it was RM50, it would be blue. If it was RM100, it would be purple.
“But what I delivered was white,” he said, adding that he had to send greetings (wave) to the woman shown in the video clip.
The video clip of Jamawi making his rounds in a coffee shop showed him greeting a couple and passing something to a woman’s hand.
Jamawi also showed this writer a small glossy pamphlet which he claimed was the one shown in the video clip and which was folded in half, exposing the white surface underneath.
He said that while the video clip might arouse the suspicions of those who saw it, the people of Tenom knew him and his methods well.
“The people of Tenom will understand. I was meeting with the voters. It was not just that restaurant, I went everywhere. Only outsiders will not understand,” he said.
During the 2018 elections, Jamawi won the neighboring Kemabong seat with 52.68 percent of the vote. At the time, he was the head of national information for Umno Youth.
Jamawi joined Warisan on May 11, 2018, just two days after being elected. He changed camps again in late July, backing Sungai Sibuga Assemblyman Musa Aman’s proposal to form a new government.
However, the state legislature was dissolved before Musa could convince the governor to swear him in as chief minister.
This time, Jamawi will face five candidates, including current Melalap legislator and Warisan Vice President Peter Anthony.
Jamawi spoke with Malaysiakini after a rally in Melalap, an agricultural area where most of the residents are farmers who plant bananas, oil palm and rubber.
Your campaign message is called Devouring Mission 2025 and describes a Five-year plan for the development of the area.
Follow Malaysiakini’s coverage of the Sabah state elections here.
